Thanks to each of you for commenting. I found each comment helpful and with good direction towards improving my future work. Take care and have a great holiday season!
This photograph leaves me unsure of what to focus on. I would like to see more of the dock down at the level of the water, or more of the far shore. One or the other. This framing makes the body of water seem insignificant to me.
This is a very nice effort imo. The balance of dock to water is just right. The near/left tree and curvature/angle of the far shore communicate depth very well. The time of day was perfect to get the reflective sky colours off the water. But... I feel the trees are screaming to have not had quite so much of their tops cropped off. but for the cropping, I would have given this a 9. I'm happy with an 8.
I love the colors. I just feel a little off-balance to the left that the dock and the branch are in the same side. (It would be balance if the branch is on the other side. 7