Robert, there’s a lot to like here. The colors are very appealing.
As for balance, I think it might help if the horizon were closer to the center, There’s a lot more blue on top than on the bottom.
The yellow in the upper half of the shot tends to upstage the soft pastels. I suspect the yellow patch really was that bright, as I’ve run into the same issue. But you might try reducing the highlights and maybe even the saturation there.
A very peaceful image, Robert. I really like the colors and the way it goes from blue to blue. I wonder how it would look flipped vertically with the darker blue at the base?
Thats really nice. Centering the horizon is probably less of a problem in abstract, but somehow I still want to see it a bit less centered. I agree with the comments about the brighter yellow. You could either reduce that a bit, or bring it out more in the reflection side for some balance. You’re definitely inspiring me to try some abstract stuff. Do you capture an image like this with an abstract edit in mind?
While the smooth, horizontal lines of this are lovely, the overall mood for me is not calm. It’s because of the strong colors and crop ratio. It really is a lovely image, but if you want to convey calm and peacefulness, less strong colors and a more pano crop might be better. YMMV.
Thanks, @Don_Peters . You are correct, the yellow sunlight was as bright as it appears. I guess that’s part of the beauty of abstracts; it doesn’t need to look exactly like it did in real life.
Thanks for the comments; since the bottom of the frame is a lake, flipping it any direction might be too radical for me! Though I have done upside down reflections.
Thanks for your comments @Paul_Holdorf . I did capture it intending for it to be a bit abstract; my shutter speed was 1/4 to soften the waves. But the final edits reflect mainly how it came out of the camera, i.e., very little editing. I do enjoy abstracts occasionally.
With some tweaks, I know I would love this! It’s a wonderful image already and yes, I do think works towards depicting calm. But after seeing Bonnie’s suggestion, I would agree that is the direction, at least I would go.
Peace, calm and other similar moods are lessened with he bolder, more saturated and contrasty colors. If this was to move more towards the pastel direction I think that would elevate this one.
You didn’t mention if this was ICM or not (and it doesn’t matter.) but one of the features I think gives this image such strength, is the lack of a defined horizon. The small ripples at the bottom give is the only clue as to the nature of the subject; but those ripples quickly fade in to obscurity with again, no horizon. I think that really makes this stand out as an abstract (and also made me think ICM.) I do think Bonnie’s version could go further - perhaps with some negative texture/clarity to soften and blend those upper colors more. And for sure, removing about half the blue up top for better balance.
@Bonnie_Lampley and @Lon_Overacker, thanks for your additional comments and suggestions. I definitely agree that cropping off some of the saturated blue at top would help the overall mood. I will work with your suggestions on color. No ICM here.
