Spring sprouts

Bo, I'm really enjoying the colors and the view across the lake and in the sky.  There's a great sense of peace.  The fresh green leaves look good as well.  However, I'm not sure the green leaves and the lake view work together.  It seems to me that you've really got two stories in this image and that rarely works in a single photo.  The reflected colors in the lake do make a good background for the leaves, so I'd suggest that you try a closer view of the leaves with the lake providing an nicely colored but out of focus background.  I also hope you have a shot of just that lake and sky, that would be a great image also.

I think the water especially is very nice....

Bo,

Love this.  I think the composition is excellent as are the colors and processing.

This is not a nit or suggestion, but just a comment/observation.  I always say, if you're going to include something, do it on purpose. That's what I see with using the spring tree and branches in the frame.  Clearly you chose to include them and I think you did it in a very complimentary way.  Perhaps you didn't have access to the shore for a clean, perfect reflection view and you had no choice to include? But regardless, the outcome works beautifully.

Lon

Pushing the tree aside (or cropping if resolution allows) and centering the island/trees/reflections might also produce an interesting color-contrast image without distractions.

Thanks to all. Your comments are what I want to hear.

These are two stories, Mark. If the tree branches and the island and the sky are in the picture in an "organic" way. then that is the story I wanted to tell. Maybe the vertical version works that way better?

I could avoid the tree branches in the foreground. What I wanted to say is "there is an island half way in the lake." So something in the foreground was what I needed.

Composition is key to the success of an image. And it's done in the field. Not much can be changed in post-processing. That's what I learned.

I hear what you are saying Bo, but agree it would be interesting to compare. With just this version, my take is that the foreground tree breaks the wonderful symmetry of the background/reflection. I'll fully admit though, that if I had that to compare side-by-side I might change my mind?