Which one looks better

[neusphotography]

any opinions I'm stuck on which one looks better.

[GB1]

They both have their advantages. The first one has more contrast that initially catches your eye, but the second is more harmonious and even. Sorry, I'm like you and that I can't decide.

G

[Greg McCary]

My vote is for #2 but you need to level the horizon.

[jetrim]

Just to keep things up in the air, I like the foreground in #2 better, but my intuition says the sky in #1 is more accurately portrayed. As gary said, it looks like it needs leveling, even if the viaduct is on an incline, that's pretty darn steep for train traffic, and the uprights would suggest a 1.5deg conterclockwise rotation is in order.

[caleb]

Perhaps a crop to put the foreground in the bottom third and the tracks up in the top third?

[neusphotography]

yea the problem was I took this on an uneven hill and as you can see on the ground how steep the hill is. thanks for everyone's input can someone tell me how to incorporate the rule of thirds in my photography.

[gahspidy]

#2 has more of a yellow color cast to it and less contrast. I like the overall look of #1 better becuase of the stronger contrast and the more neutral color balance. I like # 1

[jetrim]

yea the problem was I took this on an uneven hill and as you can see on the ground how steep the hill is. thanks for everyone's input can someone tell me how to incorporate the rule of thirds in my photography.

Check out this photo by GB1 it is a near perfect example. The basic idea is that in many (but not all) cases it is better to divide the image into 3 equal pieces vertically, horizontally, or both, and place the subject there, rather than centering it. You want to try to avoid anything that effectively cuts the image in half as well. Look at danic's featured photo at the top of the page as well, even though the lighthouse is centered, the horizon is in the lower third and the walkway is in the upper third and everything is proportional.

Google "rule of thirds" there are a lot of articles out on the web that explain it more thoroughly.

[Byron Lentz]

The first one.