About the Image(s)

My intent with this image is to convey a feeling rather than a realistic depiction.

I started with the water, using motion blur and transform=>warp to create the wave. I played with color in the highlights and shadows as well as texture and clarity in Camera Raw to get the color and texture I wanted.
I added the bird in its own layer by doing a simple Subject selection and using the transform to size and orient it.
I only included one original for the clouds and wave foam, but actually there were two, one with more texture than the other. It's a zoom out shot of hydrangea flowers at a slow shutter speed, with a pause at the end. I masked those in, and then put in a layer of clouds for the empty space under the wave.
I played with the colors using a hue/saturation adjustment layer as well as Topaz Restyle and a color lookup adjustment layer.
I know the shape of the wave is not realistic, but I personally prefer it this way, as it feels more threatening to me.