The tree-lined dam near the picnic site, early, before the wind. Usually deserted at sunrise.
18-150 · 18–35mmNo filterHood onTripod
- Mode
- Av
- Aperture
- f/11
- ISO
- 100
- Exposure ±
- −⅓
- Drive
- 2-second timer
- Focus
- One-Shot on the far shore
Do this
- Wind is the enemy — reflections need still water. Dawn is your window.
- Break the rule: put the horizon dead centre so the mountain and its reflection are equal. Symmetry is the point.
- Vertical, to get both the wall and its full reflection.
- Polariser OFF, or rotated to the position where the reflection is strongest. A polariser's job is to remove reflections — here you want them.
- Get low, close to the water; the reflection gets bigger.
If it goes wrong
- Reflection ripply
- Wait for a lull, or use a 1-second exposure on the tripod (M mode) to smooth it out.