Reflections of the Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World

Reflections and Clouds

The Fiji and Tuvalu buildings of the Polynesian Village Resort are reflected in the waters of Seven Seas Lagoon at Walt Disney World, as seen during our 2019 Florida Summer Vacation.

And there is also a photobomb from one of the Polynesian Village Resort lanterns that line the walkway around Seven Seas Lagoon. I like those lanterns, and I try to get them in a photo whenever I can. It would have been even better if this lantern had been lit, but it was not yet quite dark enough for that.

Plus, if you look closely, you can see Cinderella Castle sticking up above the trees at the right of the photo. I always like how you can barely see Cinderella Castle from here. Not a full view, but just enough to remind you that it is there. It is as if they purposefully kept it mostly hidden to draw you in closer.

This was the same night that we stayed around and saw the Electrical Water Pageant and the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the Polynesian Village Resort, in case you were wondering. It was a good day all around.

Reflecting on Reflections

Reflections in water are pretty cool. Some people like to see something reflected in the very still waters of a calm lake, when the water is “as smooth as glass,” as they say. And that can be interesting.

I like to see things reflected in moving water. You don’t get quite as good of a reflection, but I like how it is always changing and never the same.

From the photo above, you get a good idea of what you are looking at from the reflection. But if you just saw the reflection and not the main image, you probably wouldn’t know what you were looking at. The reflection is almost more of an artistic view of the object, as if painted by a talented impressionist painter. Pretty cool.

And did you ever stop to wonder who invented the mirror? Well of course it was invented by God. I am sure the first mirrors were reflections in streams and lakes. Someone eventually figured out you could polish metal and see a reflection. And then someone else figured out you could paint a piece of glass with shiny silver paint, which would then show a reflection.

I remember first learning that a mirror was just reflective paint on the back side of glass. Who knew? And how do they make that paint so reflective, anyway? Science!

Some people like to see their reflections. And then some people like to see their reflections a little too much. Like Narcissus, for example. And maybe some others like him. Others aren’t happy with their appearances and do not like their reflection at all. I guess the trick is to find a happy medium.

Be happy with how God created you, but don’t be so in love with yourself that you miss everything else.

Bible Verse

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. - 1 Corinthians 13:12

About the Photo

As you might notice, this photo has a rather bold look to it. At first, I wondered if it might be too much, but it has grown on me pretty quickly.

In the original photo, the sky was practically washed out. As I was changing settings to bring in the cloud detail from the Raw file, I ended up with something close to what you see here. I then tweaked the colors a bit, because the reflection in the water looked even more green than how it looks here if you can imagine that.

It is fun to do things differently sometimes!

Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Aurora HDR. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
_Lens: _ Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens
Date: June 10, 2019
Location: Polynesian Village Resort, Walt Disney World, Florida