Pa'rus Trail, Zion National Park, Utah. Hand held from prone position on trail at edge of rain puddle/Jean Bjerke

Reflections are fascinating and intriguing; they can amplify the colors and beauty of a scene, or provide a unique and original perspective on it. I love photographing reflections of landscapes in nature - from a stunning lake, to a small pond, pool, or even a puddle. 

Our national parks offer endless opportunities for reflections. Following are some tips for photographing reflections, most of them true whether shooting pictures with your cell phone or the most sophisticated and expensive camera.

Location: Sometimes you will come upon a wonderful reflection unexpectedly. But you will usually do best to scout your location in advance, especially for an iconic location or particularly dramatic scene. This allows you to check out different camera angles beforehand - which is particularly critical for a sunrise or sunset shot when the time window for your image will be fairly short.

Grand and spectacular mountain vistas are not necessary for beautiful reflection photographs. However, some iconic reflection locations in North American national parks are:

Grand Tetons from Schwabacher Landing at sunrise, Grand Teton National Park. There is a sign for Schwabacher Road, about 16 miles north of Jackson, on I-89. From the parking lot at the end of the gravel road, walk a few hundred yards upstream to a small beaver pond.

Swiftcurrent Lake at sunrise, Glacier National Park. Best view is from the road by the hotel.

Bow Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada/Jean Bjerke

Denali (Mt. McKinley) from Reflection Pond, Denali National Park. Small pond is near Wonder Lake, 90 miles from the park entrance and accessible only by park shuttle bus unless you have a reservation in the campground or stay in one of the lodges in the Kantishna area.

Mt. Rundle from Vermilion Lakes at sunset, Banff National Park, Canada. Easily accessed by road near the town of Banff.

Camera and lens: You can capture pictures - even very good ones - with a cell phone or iPad, but the very best images will be made with a digital SLR camera. A wide angle lens is usually best. 

Grand Tetons from Schwabacher Landing, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming/Jean Bjerke

Tripod: A good quality tripod will reduce camera shake and help you achieve a sharper image especially with longer exposures in the dim light around dawn and dusk. I use a tripod for nearly all my landscape shots.

Shoot at dawn or dusk: Usually the best light is during the two 'œmagic hours' after dawn or before sunset, when the light is warm and soft. The air is also more likely to be still. Clouds may add the beautiful colors of sunrise or sunset. Dramatic reflections often occur when there is light on the landscape being reflected, as when the first or last light of day illuminates a mountain, while the water is still in shadow.

Camera settings: Avoid your camera'™s Auto setting. Instead use Aperture priority or full manual settings for more creative control over your shots. Study your camera manual and practice if necessary. I nearly always use Aperture priority for landscape shots in order to control the depth of field. Alternatively, use full manual settings. 

Why not simply use the Auto setting? A camera set on Auto will likely select a large aperture to let in more light, compromising the 'œdepth of field' in the image. What does that mean? With less depth of field, foreground and distance may not both be in focus. Selecting a small aperture (F stop of 16 or 22) gives you much greater depth of field so that your entire image may be in focus. At dawn or dusk you may need a longer exposure of several seconds to even 20 or 30 seconds or more, to capture enough light, especially with a small aperture. This is easier achieved using a setting other than Auto.

Filters: Most important is a polarizing filter, which reduces glare on water, capturing a richer and clearer reflection, and enhances the saturation of colors in sky and water. Except for the iPhone panorama of Swiftcurrent Lake, all the images here were made using a circular polarizing filter. If the sky is much brighter than the land, a split neutral density filter helps reduce the contrast between light sky and dark land, producing a more even effect in the image.

Zion east canyon reflection, Zion National Park, Utah/Jean Bjerke

Composition: Get creative! Look for striking landforms or other compositional elements that can be captured in a reflection. Try to avoid the predictable shot of a reflection in a beautiful lake, taken from a standing position. Small ponds, puddles, or small pools of still water in a stream offer endless and more original possibilities. Shoot from different angles. Get down low to capture more of the reflection. Include a foreground element like flowers, grass or rocks for a feeling of greater depth. Consider including a person in the composition. Frame the same view vertically, horizontally, and by zooming in on the image. Experiment with close-up views of details. Look for reflections in unexpected places like a rain puddle on a trail, or in a small pothole in a rock.

Wind is your enemy: Ideally, your reflective surface, which is usually water, is completely still. If you find a whole lake that is mirror smooth, take advantage of it immediately - the calm may not last long. If there is a breeze, look for smaller bodies of water, which are more likely to be still. Look for water that is protected behind trees, rocks, or a log. If a breeze is ruffling the water, sometimes waiting awhile will bring a momentary lull. 

Note: You may wish to research HDR techniques and software to better handle high contrast in some scenes.