Don: I love the sky, too, but there's no other foreground interest other than the reflection. That would make for a less interesting image, IMO. You'll note that the current composition falls into the rule of thirds, both horizontally and vertically. Yes, a more panoramic crop would be fine, too, but I need to look at the image in this ratio, or even 4x5 or 5x6.
Kelly: Nope. There are cranes just to the left; I didn't want to include them. And this pretty much encompasses all of the tall buildings in central Austin, anyway. And I would never put them dead center.
Barbara: Sure thing. Here are the originals, one for the sky, the other a bit later for the buildings. These are not SOOC; they've been through LR but not PS. After doing some plug-in work on both, I ended up using the sky from the second in overlay mode in PS and adjusting for the effect I wanted. I'm pretty happy with the result.
I think it is a good shot, I'd have like to have seen another shot with the water being even smoother. Possibly a heavy ND filter to get the waves/water to be much smoother, it could make the symmetry between the actual buildings and reflections that much stronger.
You know you have a winner, this one works in every possible way for me. The fiery sky, reflection and silhouette action is taking the eye in all the right directions.
Takennnn wrote: I think it is a good shot, I'd have like to have seen another shot with the water being even smoother. Possibly a heavy ND filter to get the waves/water to be much smoother, it could make the symmetry between the actual buildings and reflections that much stronger.
Thanks. Unfortunately, with the ripples by the far shore (and thus most of the movement of the water), I would never have gotten an even texture top to bottom, no matter how long an exposure. Wasn't worth trying. I rather like the reality of the water here, and (IMO) helps to place the viewer in the scene.
It's really never not breezy or windy here I need to go north to find still water. Or on a day where the water is really in motion.
The second image is the one I prefer. I played with it in Photoshop for a couple of minutes and the colors in the image were better in my opinion. That image has some pop in it if you bring it out.
Shadowfixer1 wrote: The second image is the one I prefer. I played with it in Photoshop for a couple of minutes and the colors in the image were better in my opinion. That image has some pop in it if you bring it out.
I'm not getting this.
Do you mean the 2nd of the two images I posted showing what I used to composite the OP?
Yep. The one with the different hues of blues and magentas. I personally think it makes a more interesting image than just orange everywhere. If you don't mind, I am posting my edit of it. I will take it down as soon as you see it. 90% of the edit was done in ACR.
Shadowfixer1 wrote: Yep. The one with the different hues of blues and magentas. I personally think it makes a more interesting image than just orange everywhere. If you don't mind, I am posting my edit of it. I will take it down as soon as you see it. 90% of the edit was done in ACR.
No worries at all. I don't mind if you leave it; I'm sure that others will find this equally, or even more appealing. And that's okay.
My intent for the (1st) image was a limited range of hues, and I'm happy with that. I have about 2 dozen exposures over an hour or more, and I may experiment with more versions to create something with more varied color.
Most people will probably prefer your first composite to this. My taste has been toward the blues and magentas for early or late light. Nice job on these either way. Good job!
Yep. The only thing I would do differently is to tone down the blues in the buildings. I prefer them slightly warm. It's a nice image. Lots of color and hues.
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I need to go north to find still water. Or on a day where the water is really in motion. 
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