This is a very nice shot but there is much that I must tell you about night photography and how to improve this erea. Fisrt, the problem of the capture. As you know the brightest areas will create burn out. Open apertures will have light reflecting inside the camera and the end result is that the smallest wattage will not register in true proportion. Back in the film days this required the making of an unsharp mask to decrease the intensity of the brights. Here is a system I use to improve these images. I select all ultra bright areas with 3 pixel feathereing and place them on their own layer and then change the mode to multiply. Select the opacity that best serves the purpose. Merge the layers and then activate your burn tool to about 6 or 10 percent and select shadows. Bring up your image to actual pixel size and lightly work the tool around the bright lights to return definition. You can do the same for reflections, but the secret here is not to overdo it. Look at your image and also touch upon those areas that should be solid black lines or shapes. Done with love and ligthness of touch will bring your image closer to how the eye sees it.
The first thing that I notice when viewing this image are the beautiful warm colors. They draw me right in and work, along with the soft focus and predominantly horizontal lines, to give the photo a very peaceful feeling. The exposure and focus are great, and the sharpness (actually the lack thereof) is well controlled. The composition is lacking; putting the horizon right in the middle of the frame makes the photo seem split in half. The subtle clouds are very nice, but I think the overall photo would be more effective if most of the sky was cropped out. This would raise the horizon and make the buildings a more integral part of the photo. I also think it would have been better in a horizontal format (not cropped--the reflections are an essential part of the composition--but more expansive, including more buildings to the right and/or left).
Beautiful shot, it makes me think of the travel posters at the travel agent's office. Wonderful color and composition, and I love the soft focus look.8
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