May 2025 Theme Discussion: Reflection(s)

This is the place for chit-chat on this month’s theme—reflections! I’m sure you’ve got some amazing ones to share. 😄

Hello Isabelle,

Great theme, but it’s gonna be tough to choose 🤔—our computer’s full of photos with reflections 🪞!

Have a wonderful trip in northern Finland. If the nights are still a little dark, take the chance to admire the northern lights since the activity index is high over the next few days!

Awesome, Nathalie, you’re gonna give us more gorgeous photos again! 😊 Didn’t see any northern lights this trip, even though we spent several nights on the lookout—but hey, that’s not why we came. 😄

Thanks Catherine and Marie Anne for kicking things off! 😊

Hi Isabelle, thanks for suggesting such an open-ended topic. I can’t wait to see what our talented photographers come up with! 😉

Place de Cucuron, for those who aren’t familiar with this lovely little Provençal village:

And still in Provence, the Silvacane Abbey.



Happy travels up north.

Catherine

Your photos are gorgeous, Nathalie! 🤩 I recognized the first one with the lion’s eye 😊

Thanks for these beautiful photos! Reflections of the day... a bit tricky with a 400mm lens, but it’s all I’ve got right now 😉

Photo 2: Stunning! Animals at the watering hole in Etosha Park, Namibia

Hi Nathalie, Your photo is really interesting, and it took me a little while to figure it out. It’s upside down, isn’t it? And where’s the “original” of the light gray animal on the right? Thanks for clarifying! 🙂

Hi Kate,

Your photo is really interesting and it took me a while to figure it out. It’s upside down, isn’t it?

🤫 It’s even more confusing that way!

And where is the “original” of the light gray animal on the right? Thanks for clarifying 🙂

The second animal is a little farther from the watering hole.

You can check out more photos of this watering hole (days_18) here in the Namibia travel journal. I hesitated to submit this one for the contest:

Really beautiful photo. And gorgeous zebras too

Reflection, glare, or shimmer—I’m not sure what to call it—in the glow of a firefly at night.

Hi, a classic: the Miroir d'eau in Bordeaux Cat

still in Bordeaux, the buildings on Place Pey Berland are reflected in the glass Christmas tree.



and to stay with glass, clouds over the Maxxi in Rome.

Awesome, Catherine, what beautiful reflections... 🤩

I hesitated to submit this one for the contest:



I get why you hesitated. This one is more classic but really well done. But you made a good choice—I love it when a photo makes you think ;)

The zebras reminded me of this photo that pops up on social media from time to time. It’s not reflections but shadows—the image is still amazing!

Hi Isabelle,

I knew the first photo with the lion’s eye 😁

Yeah, it was my avatar for a long time! 👍🏾

The zebras made me think of this photo that pops up on social media from time to time. It’s not reflections but shadows—the image is still amazing!



Yeah, this photo is amazing and really makes you stop and think 🤔

There are already some gorgeous photos in the contest... Come on, I know you’ve still got more up your sleeve! 👍

Sunlight reflecting on the Rhine in Germany. Constant barge traffic on the river.

Let’s stay in Namibia a little longer with the giraffes

Oh! Oh! Lovely photo! 😄

Hi Isabelle,

Let’s stay in Namibia a little longer with the giraffes



Could you also flip this photo the right way up, please? These photos—gorgeous, right?—where the reflection shows the subject upside down (like Nathalie’s in the contest) leave me a bit puzzled. I just can’t wrap my head around whether flipping it really adds anything. :)

Catherine

Good evening Isabelle

Let’s stay in Namibia a little longer with the giraffes



Could you also put this photo the right way up, please? These photos—gorgeous, right?—where the reflection is visible upside down (like Nathalie’s in the contest) leave me puzzled, and I just can’t wrap my head around whether this flip really adds anything. 🙂

Catherine

Hi Catherine, This one’s the right way up—we were behind the giraffe, and I zoomed in for this framing 😊

Okay, I’ll admit I’m totally lost—I was picturing a photo taken head-on and then flipped 180 degrees. If you’re behind the giraffe, how is it even possible to see its forehead? 😮

I need to find the original—this photo’s from 2019. We were far away, and I think it was taken from a low angle. In my memory, it was shot from behind, but now you’ve got me doubting! 🤔

Hi Isabelle, Don’t worry, my questions led me to figure out how to download a photo, and then it’s a breeze to rotate it. Both options make sense, but as it’s presented, the reflection is magnified. Catherine

I need to find the original—this photo is from 2019. We were far away, and I think it was taken from a low angle. From what I remember, it was shot from behind, but now you’ve got me doubting! 🤔

I had a feeling this topic would mess with our heads, especially in times like these when everything feels upside down!

Congrats on your winning photo (just a heads-up, it can’t be reused for a future contest on the bird theme ;)).

What’s with this *reflex* of photographing reflections?

Rainbow city Marseille?

Congrats on your winning photo (just a heads-up, it can’t be reused for a future bird-themed contest ;)).

Thanks, Jean Luc! 😊 With the thousands of birds I’ve already photographed, no risk of that happening 😆

What’s with this *reflex* of photographing reflections? .

Personally, I’m a fan of reflections—whether they’re captured with a DSLR, smartphone, or now a mirrorless camera 😉

Marseille, rainbow city?



Love that rainbow! 👍

You should also enter it in the contest 😊

Hello,

Reflet, réflexion or réverbération (I don’t know what it’s called)

Actually, neither, since lampiridae emit light. 😉 Still a chance to see them, though their populations are collapsing. 😐

Hello,

I just can’t see if this twist really adds anything.

I’m not convinced either...

Thanks for the info. It’s really rare.

Some really beautiful photos already in the contest... Come on, I know you’ve got more up your sleeve 👍

Yeah, I’ve got plenty of material, just like everyone else. Who doesn’t have a shot of a boat, a monument, or a landscape reflecting in a lake?

The tricky part is sorting and choosing!

Oh yeah! Tell me about it! I’ve got thousands of photos on my SSDs just waiting for me to deal with them 😅😅😅 Anyway, you should be able to find 3 for the contest—feel free to post the rest in this thread 😊

Hi there,

I knew the first photo with the lion’s eye 😊

Yeah, it was my avatar for a long time!

I knew it too and always thought it was a clever Photoshop job or something. But after checking out your travel journal from Botswana on your site to understand the context of this shot, I realized it’s not the case at all. The reflection really does appear in both of the animal’s eyes. Amazing!

Here’s one, "out of competition." On the island of Naoshima (Japan), in the Oval, the annex of the "Benesse House" hotel, a work by architect Tadao Ando. The sky is reflected in an oval-shaped pool. A dialogue between sky and water, concrete and nature. The rooms are arranged all around, each offering a view of the Seto Inland Sea at sunrise or sunset, depending on the side.

Namibia (from Agfachrome slide), July 2002

In Les Riceys (Aube), the Saint-Pierre-es-Liens church is reflected in the Laignes River.

Here’s one, "out of competition." On Naoshima Island (Japan), in the Oval, the annex of the "Benesse House" hotel, a work by architect Tadao Ando. The sky is reflected in an oval-shaped basin. A dialogue between the sky and the water, concrete and nature. The rooms are arranged all around, and each one offers a view of the Seto Inland Sea, facing either the sunrise or sunset, depending on the room.

Such a unique hotel! 😊

More Thai reflections:

A little closer to Colmar...

The Aiguille Verte and Les Drus at sunset

Aoraki / Mt Cook refused—the rascal—to mirror itself in Lake Matheson (New Zealand)!

Somewhere on the west coast of the South Island (New Zealand)

Spherical mirrors in Singapore

Classic image of an alpine lake in Oisans.

Good evening

If this theme has already been used before, no worries.

Yes, in June 2012

VF Photo Contest June 2012: "Reflections"

Here are the three photos I submitted back then

Photo 1



In Milan, a long time ago—just as I was about to photograph these pretty tulips, some *%#@ cyclist stole the show. Ugh!

Photo 2



In Puzhehei, Yunnan (China)

Photo 3



The trunk of the Maharaja of Jaipur’s car, with his motto droit et loyal (in French) and, as a bonus in the reflection, a very rare and sought-after self-portrait of Ragamuffin 🤪 scanned photo

In Milan, a long time ago, just as I was about to take a photo of those pretty tulips, some *%#@ cyclist stole the show—ugh, so annoying!

I think the photo’s charm and its reflection actually come from that cyclist being there.

Hello Isabelle,

I love the theme. The hardest part is going to be choosing the photos 😉

A photo of a lake that’s perfect for reflections. A panorama taken with my phone. Lago di Carezza in the Dolomites

Have a great weekend, Pascale