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How to Reflect Light Off Water Onto a Wall

Water tends to reflect light very differently from typical solid surfaces. Slight motions in the surface of a body of water causes a diffuse reflection of light, during which a single ray of incident light is reflected at many angles rather than at just one. This property of water results in a constant fluctuation in the manner at which a light source will reflect onto a surface such as a wall, creating a shimmering curtain of soft light that can be very aesthetically pleasing. Obtaining this effect is a simple matter of adjusting the angle of your light source to your liking.

Instructions

    • 1

      Position your light source so that your reservoir of standing water is between it and the wall onto which you wish to reflect the light.

    • 2

      Adjust your light source to a height at which you can rotate the focus of its light to strike the surface of the water at an obtuse angle.

    • 3

      Turn on your light source and adjust the angle at which it strikes the water until you have achieved a shimmering curtain effect to your liking on your wall.

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