Seagull and Reflection

This is one of My Very Favorite Photos Because it Speaks to Me

I took this picture of a Seagull and Reflection at Pescadero Beach on October 5, 2015.

(Click on the picture to view or download a full 4K version)

The story of this picture:

On a motorcycle ride down the coast, one of my favorite stopping and exploring spots is Pescadero Beach.

This is a nice, fairly routine beach photo of a seagull.
However, there is a bit of a story about this particular image.

I was showing a number of my photos to my sister-in-law.
She is a director at the San Francisco Art Academy and I was hoping for feedback and maybe some approbation.
When I came to this photo, she immediately saw something that I hadn't in the many times I had looked at it.
She asked why the blue-gray wing of the seagull was reflected in the wet sand distinctly brown.
That she so quickly saw that shows how practiced she must be at "seeing" a picture.
I was and am unable to answer, I have some theories by no real explanation.

In my composing the picture:

There is nothing special about the composition of this picture.
The seagull is vertically centered with the reflection below and is just right of center because he is looking left.

I topped the picture at the dark trough of an on-coming wave and
had most of the ocean lines moving slightly upward from left to right.
I think this is pleasing to the eye of most people who read left-to-right indicating a rising trend.
I also included a foreground rock directly below the seagull to demarcate the bottom and to draw the eye upward.