Critique, please..

[leaforte]

This is a photograph I took last fall at a lake near me. It was very early morning, with a surreal fog. I see the moment in the photo and love it. But I was there. What can I do to help this photograph capture that feel? I'd like to keep it, so help me whip it into shape...please.

Lake Whatcom Birdhouses
http://tonymcguiness.smugmug.com/photos/47919483-L.jpg

Or is it even worth keeping. Is the composition just not right for adjusting and keeping the feel? I wish I had a wider shot to work with. Thanks.

[Miguel Delinquento]

I like it a lot. I wouldn't crop a thing. I'm probably reflecting a conditioned taste here, but the initial flash thought I had when I saw your shot was "that looks real northwest." Then I later saw your caption.
The only improvement I can see is if you can vary the tonal range some more. It's a keeper though.

[SloYerRoll]

You did a great job shooting this reflection. To me the shot is very disorienting though.

At first glance, there is no visual clue to dileniate between the reflected image and the direct view.
My eyes follow the pilings down then the vertical pilings slam into the horizontal pilings. ]The point where the reflection stops/starts gets lost in that top horizontal piling to me.

I also think you did a great job composing the shot on the left, top and bottom. I'd try croping out the low piling on the right since it doesn't add anything to the picture IMO.

Birdhousese are a bit soft. Looks like your AF also locked in on the horizontal pilings in front vs. the actual target.

-Jon

[Gary Glass]

It's definitely an interesting composition. I think what would improve it is to make it look foggy. The fog is completely blown out, so it's just white. It occurs to me that I would try making the fog/sky/reflection grey instead of white. It also occurs to me, I might try making the reflection tonally different than the sky it reflects. I'd just depend on my feel for it as to how far I took that.

I might also try converting it to B&W. There's almost no color in it anyway, and grayscale will give you more tone to play with. On the other hand, that bit of yellow paint on the platform is a spot of visual interest too.