thanks Tim, when you come back could you weigh in on the reflections where I'm kinda stuck sure would appreciate it...they were lighter than the ducks but for the rest I'm flummoxed
I think you've got these working perfectly value-wise. It gives the impression of seeing through the partially opaque water particles of fog - the reflections wouldn't be shouting out, I don't think - and ...
With regard to reflections in fog I am not sure I can offer you a great deal, though to my mind fog means still conditions and barely a ripple, as you have depicted......
. . . this is a good suggestion; the stillness associated with this kind of weather can evoke a atrong sense of stillness and romantic desolation.
That's what I think, anyway.
Like most of these technical aspects, whatever the physics underlying, as long as the effect is pleasing and balances withm your overall vision, then that's all that really matters, no?
Generally, reflections are the same length as the bird is high. Although, there are some situations (very light colors) where the reflection can be longer than the object. Normally, I measure (roughly) the height of the bird and then "fold" that length down (hinged at the feet) and use that distance for the reflection.. If your reference material show long reflections--forget I ever said anything!!
Sid
In mirror-like conditions this is spot on - however whenever there's a ripple on the surface, you get what Ed describes:
but it may be because you are seeing here multiple reflections stacking vertically, so it is the same hind neck profile repeating
on Sid's point, I think you can get a veeeeeery long reflection if your eye level is low relative to the birds waterline
. . . the reflected image is replicating on each ripple surface and only gradually does the shape of the reflection reveal itself. What you get on a rippled surface is one plane of the ripple is at an angle to reflect the object(s) on/in/near the water surface and other planes of the ripple will be reflecting sky. You get a slice of ripple and a slice of sky, to put it very bluntly (of course the ripple has a complex surface and contains much variety of reflections). But if you were to take a phots such as the one of yours with stacked ripples, and physically slice out each piece of the sky ripples then join the 'positive reflections' together - you would get something approximating to the mirror reflection - although distortion is bound to occur.
Here are four of my photos of female eiders - in the first two you can see how the slices of ripple are reflecting objects on the water surface and/or in the direct view and then there are slices of sky intervening. The second shows a nice way of depicting a gentle ripple, with just the toppermost bit of the reflection being sliced away and floating on the water. The last two show why I don't think it's a good idea to worry too much about what your reference says - I could never paint a reflection like the Halloween mask in pic three and one would need to reinterpret the reflection in pic four because ducks wth four eyes aren't the norm (but this image does show the 'stacking' effect Ed refers to.
