Reflections, II

Reflections, Part II

Germany is well known for its automobiles and, at least where I come from, for its solidly built houses. This combination can be captured in a single photograph and, depending on the quality of the light, can give the viewer a surprise as his eyes wander back and forth from the surface of the window glass or polished exterior into the car's interior. Try it yourself:

Obviously, not every car parked in front of a house in Germany was produced here. And not every house was made by German labor. I'll bet you already knew that!

And not every car with a Mercedes star on it is a Mercedes! Can you guess what make the car above is? Hint: it was co-manufactured by SWATCH.

The right angle and lighting produce a visual ambiguity that create a new figure in the viewer's mind. I particularly like the contrast between the round steering wheel and the rigid steel bars on the gate.

As many different makes and models of cars there are in Germany, there are even more styles of homes. Regional styles of architecture vary due to a number of factors, including availability of building materials, amount of destruction during the war, wealth of the population and personal taste. The picture above shows what I consider a typical Stuttgart apartment building with its flower pot on the trash bin encasing.

This compact car looks futuristic, in contrast to the building it was parked in front of.

How many visual layers do you see in this picture?

I see the interior of the car, the Mercedes parked to its right, the reflection in the right-hand side mirror, the reflection in the driver's window and the reflections in the cars parked to its left. 

The rear end of a flat-back car is also a rewarding surface for reflecting on your surroundings.

Most of these pictures were taken with a wide-angle lens (Tamron 17-50mm), which gave me the ability to capture a lot of glass from relatively close-up. As you can see in this last picture, there is usually only about 5 ft. of sidewalk between the cars and the building. 

So grab your camera and see what surprises await you on the streets near you!