I’ve featured this spot a few times before – from different viewpoints and in different seasons, so I almost tossed this photo away.

I was later than usual getting out for yesterday morning’s power walk. The sun, being a bit higher in the sky, wasn’t providing the light I usually like for outdoor photos.

As I looked at this photo more closely before discarding it, I noticed the iridescent reflections on the path. This was something I hadn’t seen before so I was intrigued and curious. I wondered if it was some type of strange artifact from my ultra wide lens. When I Googled, I was surprised to learn that certain types of pavement will actually give off an iridescent or opalescent glow when photographed from low angles.

Hmmm, but this wasn’t shot from a low angle. After being puzzled for quite some time, it finally hit me. This wasn’t the path at all. It was the top railing of the metal fence that stands alongside of this portion of the riverbank!

Isn’t it great that photographs can sometimes fool even the shooter? The good outcome is that I learned that pavement can have these reflective properties, so you can be sure I’ll be watching for that.

“I walk, I look, I see, I stop, I photograph”

Leon Levinstein