Hmm, even know what to look for I simply cannot see the truth in the dove. I can indeed see it was attempted, however, there is no clear definition. Even in a reflection, physics and proportion should still be evident. I do realize it was not intended to be the reflection of an actually dove and rather is a decoration of sorts, but would ask that next time you define your outline more clearly. Good job on the rest though.

This is a realistic image. If you were to see the reflection of light in a real lake you would see no definition, and no outline.
The reflection of the sky, after altered by the surrounding hills, resembles a dove in shape only.
Thanks for the comment :)

Uhm, I personally lived near a lake most of my childhood. Spent many many hours watching the surface as birds, clouds, or the moon and stars show their reflections. Its like a mirror when the water is still and calm. With the slight bit of wave to the water, if it were a dove flying over it would be clear with a slight distortion to it on the water. This is just my experience however, but I take it as truth.

I can't honestly tell if you're just trolling, not reading my posts, or maybe both?

There is no actual dove.

Sun -> clouds -> atmosphere -> water

There is no dove being reflected here. There is nothing living here (spare the trees).
The reflection is of the clouds.
When you take into account the angle of the sun (thus the angle of the light) alongside the locations of the sand ridges, you get a reflection of the clouds that resembles the shape of a dove.

Understand?

I grew up in a town where the vast majority of the income was from fishing. We lived on the ocean, with 5 lakes within 10 minutes, so I'm not sure you've got an edge there.

I don't troll. And physics doesn't lie. I'll take a pic for you sometime this week. I'll post it as a submission.

But no, I am not trolling. You posted your work so I assumed you wanted people to comment on its strengths and weaknesses. And as far as edge goes, I lived in Florida where we are surrounded by water, and most of our land is covered in swamps, lakes, and ponds with an ass ton of forest. All my life has been spent around water until I moved to the desert for college.

I did understand what you said. I was simply stating my opinion on the reality of the picture is all. I did say it was a good piece regardless. I'm sorry if you took offense.

Miles of shoreline by state:
Alaska: 33,904
Florida:2,276

Your call... not that this really has any bearing on the picture :P

I will concede that the edges of the water could show some surface tension to increase the realism... is that what you're trying to say?
I wasn't too concerned with that, because the white reflection was supposed to draw your focus anyway.

The sky is what drew my attention. In all honesty I wouldnt have noticed the dove until I really started to look deeply into the scene itself.

oh the sky!

Well rest assured, the reflection is calculated algorithmically. Photon tracing ftw ^^