Fountain at Night

I begin my observation at around 8:30 or so at night of the fountain at the six pack. I had hoped to start earlier and get a little more of the light from sunset, but I am running a little later than I'd like and so the sky is already set a dark violet/indigo. It is a cloudless sky, and this near to the city makes for too much light pollution to see any stars. As it has been the case with my other evening observations, unnatural light is unavoidable, especially in such a high traffic area as campus. It's alright, though, because the nearby street lamps make for an interesting effect on the water.

I focus on the lowest of the three tiers of pools. The fountain is on at this time, but some water from the upper levels is still steadily dripping into the otherwise still pool. The water appears to be a very dark green, almost even black. I cannot tell if it has the green tint because of the quality of the water or because of all of the nearby trees. This is because the dark quality of the water makes it highly reflective. Since the water is mostly still, the image that is reflected on the surface is nearly identical to the actual object (whether it be a building, tree, or the rim of the pool). However, the detail of the image is a little fuzzy due to the really subtle movement of the water. It ripples slightly because of the incoming water from the above pool, but it also looks like otherwise isolated there are small ripples forming in areas of the pool that are far from the previously described waterfalls. Most notably, this gentle current in the water makes the reflection of the lamposts that line the sidewalk just beyond the pool flicker and seem to sparkle. The light from these looks yellow at the source, but in the green-tint of the water the light is rendered bluish. The spots of light grow and shrink with the flow of the water, making the reflection of reality a far more interesting picture. Another thing I notice is the way the reflection changes with my angle of perspective. The closer to the ground level, the less reflection is apparent. This is also true if I look at it from a perpendicular angle. As I get close to the end of my observation time, I take notice of the way the shadows on the stone around the fountain move. It is not very clear in my video, but to my eyes a very obvious set of sharp shadows (which look like really thin lines) seem to run up from where the stone meets the water through the topside of the stone. The lines move quickly, perhaps quicker than the apparent flow of the water. The shadows aren't very dark, as there isn't much light to make the contrast in the first place, but they are a sort of blue grey on the light tan of the stone. Since the sky conditions changed very little over my observation time, I can't say there is any big difference between the beginning and the end of my observation. Still, there was a lot to take in, so I may have missed a subtle change in conditions.

Fountain at Night from Lady Subrosa on Vimeo.