The water surface was very still until something broke the surface off to one side (probably a duck), and at that point the reflections became more interesting.
The following is a good description of what I mean when I say I'm aiming for an abstract feel in an image. I've changed the references to painting to apply to photography instead. I consider what I am doing is "abstraction", as reflected in the quote, not as producing a "pure abstract" creation.
Abstraction is about capturing the essence of a subject rather than the detail, but still retaining an echo of whatever it is that prompted the idea (unlike a pure abstract). You might reduce the subject to the dominant colors, shapes, or patterns. Think reduced reality in the detail you need [while still capturing] the character of the scene.
Very nice, I love the evening light on the harbor. The right angle docks contrast against the ripples, but it seems natural still. Simple and appealing.
At first I thought you had taken my Trees entry and played a bit LOL. Great shifting shapes and tones in the reflections - you're right about the increased interest.
The top half is a fairly ordinary photo, but then the painterly bottom half transforms it into something completely different, almost alien. What happens if you take more off the top? Does the balance get better or worse? (I'm asking, I don't have an answer.)
Glad you asked. I hope we'll encourage and welcome these sorts of discussions in this thread. I like the context provided by the top part. I also rather like the contrast of the plainness, or let's call it simplicity, of the top part against the vibrance of the lower part. You still get that with a bit more taken off the top, but it does quickly start to feel unbalanced to me. If I was to go in that direction I would crop it so that just the fingers of the docks plus a tad of the walkway connecting them showed, which I did consider by the way, but then it seemed to become "just" pretty patterns in the water.
The top half is a fairly ordinary photo, but then the painterly bottom half transforms it into something completely different, almost alien. What happens if you take more off the top? Does the balance get better or worse? (I'm asking, I don't have an answer.)
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