REWORK:
ORIGINAL:
It actually rained about a week ago - it was wonderful, even if it wasn’t much. We went out and about just to be out in the wet. The wind wasn’t strong, so there were nice reflections on Whiskeytown Lake, especially in the backwaters.
Any critique welcome. Can you tell that these are burnt trees?
Is this a composite: No
a7r3, 105mm, f/16, 1/60s, ISO 800, hand held.
Very beautiful, Bonnie! The rain gives it an impressionist painting look. And I actually thought the green on the bottom was the leaves on the tops of the trees so my first impression was not that they look burned. But now knowing and looking closer I can kind of tell… Really nice!
Nice idea here. It definitely is impressionistic. I couldn’t;t tell they were trees I like that it’s abstract.
Very impressionistic image, Bonnie. I did not know they were burnt until you mentioned it, but I did suspect that they were dead due to the lack of limbs and foliage. The raindrops add a lot to the scene for me. My only suggestion would be to tone down the tree in the middle where the bark is missing as my eye wants to stay there. Great eye to spot this.
Thank you, @Vanessa_Hill, @Nathan_Klein, and @Ed_Lowe for your feedback.
Just wonderful to see this. Your ability to see small scenes and convey them is an inspiration. I wondered if the raindrop rings could be emphasized a bit, and tried a curve for a luminosity section, and found that it also developed the texture of the reflected a tiny bit also. Anyway, fyi …
Thanks, @Dick_Knudson. 
I do like your luminosity curve.
This is wonderful.
I like it as presented.
Wonderful seeing! Intentional Water Movement!
Now that I see it on the big screen I can say that I really like it. I feel as though I’m not looking at water reflections but rather am looking through a window during a rainfall. It’s funny how we can see different things in an image. I find the little rings fascinating for some reason. Reflections are always confusing when it’s not always clear that it’s a reflection. You’re dealing with two worlds. In the case 3 (the faint trees in the bg). It’s a really fantasy. I wouldn’t label this as impressionistic.
I would lift the blacks a bit (shadows) which would open up that dark area in the lrc. And adjust the colors accordingly.
Thank you, @joaoquintela, @Diane_Miller, and @Igor_Doncov.
I’ve posted a rework incorporating everyone’s suggestions. I adjusted the colors, also, as my original was looking a bit too greenish I think.
I prefer the new version. I think perhaps you overcompensated on the shadows so I made it a tad darker. But now I can’t tell the difference. It’s minor for sure.
Thr reworked image was on top by the time I got here. My first impression was that it had the savour of a Monet from his time at Giverny . Scrolling down to the original I lost that feel and experienced what I felt was a heavier hand.
The grouping of the three bunches of trees works well. Had they not been burned I suspect this would be a chaotic image.
It is amazing what you are finding in the area. I spent 17 years there and had little luck on images.
Not much more to add other than saying the rework does the scene the justice it deserves.
