A redish sunset, caused by the Cali fires.

Your pick - the original, the crop, or neither, and why?

I like the first (cropped) version although I'm not sure completely why. It could be the additional lighting in the corners of the original, but I'm not sure.

Nevertheless, it's a beautiful shot. I love the colors. The tombstones make this more than just a silhouette. I like how they lead the eye into the shot.

PC

The original because it leads you to the tree better and gives the more room around the tree. That is not to say I don't like the crop which works to.

My one crit would be that the stones are a tad dark for the photo and a bit more light on them may be better.

Roger

GB, The cropped works better, because of the extra branches in the original which i personally find annoying/distracting... clone them out maybe????? (not so sure... but hey)

The original works better because it gives more room to the stones, and as Roger said, leads better to the tree.

I think though, that a Portrait shot would have been the best here... by trying a crop, centering the image... you will find the stones forming a v-shape which is quite appealing...
(Not suggesting the crop, but rather a re-shoot...if possible)


just my thoughts...

Interesting comment about using portrait.......I think that is the ticket.

Len

They are both ok by me but I do wish the foreground was just a little lighter. I very much like the way the sun reflects off some of the tombstones.

Thanks for the tips, everyone.

I agree - the foreground stones etc are too dark. If only they were a little brighter, guess I should have used my graduated ND but I didn't have it with me.

PC, Roger, Marc - I guess both versions have their merits. I originally cropped it so to elim what I thought might be clutter, but some of the clutter is appealing. Guess it's caught between two worlds.

Marc, the vert format is an interesting idea. Maybe I'll try that soon. This place is 300 yds from where I work.

Thks Len and MB.

GB