@lukevrable, I personally like the third picture the best. The first photo seems to have too many horizontal elements, and doesn’t seem to pull me in. The second one likewise doesn’t pull me in so much and somehow the scene almost feels distorted. The fourth is better but there’s just not as much interest in the scene for me. However….. here’s why I like the third one. 🙂
– The proportions seems more realistic.
– There’s a better sense of depth, and you have different things going different directions in foreground, middleground and background so there’s somewhere for the eye to go. The angle of the anchor is opposite the angle of the dock, and then the horizontal aspect of the rock and the horizon provide stability in the back of the foreground and in the background.
As @hayhand02 mentioned, keep an eye on those horizons and be sure they are nice and straight!