city puddles are a great place to hunt for reflections. especially in the older sections of a city when the sun comes out after the rain. of course if the puddles are in the street it's best if there's little traffic. i took these shots last October in the art nouveau district in Riga. the building is Elizabetes Iela 33, a wonderful well known work of Mikhail Eisenstein with a mix of multiple architectural styles constructed in 1901 at the beginning of the art nouveau era in Riga. the late afternoon sun had come out and was shining on the facade casting it's reflection down onto the puddle in the stone street below. these three shots are of the same building and puddle taken from different angles with pauses to allow for the puddle to settle between disturbances by passing cars. i find it particularly interesting to see the changes in the transparency of the reflection with the changes of the angle of the shots. the first shot is taken looking down, with the upper sections of the building captured in the puddle being transparent enough to clearly reveal the stone street surface.
the next shot is taken from a somewhat lower height facing the building more directly. the underlying stones can only be seen in part of the reflection of the building (and the sky)
this last shot is taken from a lower level on my knees facing across and only slightly downward, making the reflection opaque and featuring the lower portion of the building . i am not sure what was going on with the purple-brown section of the puddle but it does add a lot of interest to the perspective so i am choosing it as my contest entry. all three shots would be excellent candidates.
happy hunting
