10-63

Galien River Winter Sunglare, 
Warren Woods, Michigan

There was something hypnotic about this setting.  The gentle rush of the old river told of its efforts to keep its middle ice-free as it meandered its way to Lake Michigan.  The river also complained of a recent heavy snowfall, which tried to silence its perpetual whisper with a muffling mantle of white.  Now, however, the sun had returned and water flowed, giving the river its voice once again.

I wanted to capture the S-shaped reflection of the sunlight on the surface of the river leading to the horizon.  The lower 2/3 was devoted to water and the upper 1/3 to trees.  The dark banks of the river helped frame the reflection and focus visual attention at the point where the bright reflection converges with the banks.  Shooting into a sun reflected by ice required taking a light meter reading away from the scene, then setting the camera exposure controls to manual.