Number one for me Andy, the simplicity winning over…
While I can see the appeal of the second image, there is nevertheless
something a bit jarring about the top third. I can’t help feeling that it
needs a lot more space at the top for what looks like a pretty interesting
sky, but then of course you’d lose that lovely foreground; I suppose what
I’d really like to see is a sort of vertical panorama if you know what I mean.
Just a bit too tight, almost cluttered looking, in that top third…
Yes I prefer the first too. The minimalist desaturated look is starting to appeal more and more to me.
There is something about the sharp horizon that I particularly liked.
I agree that there is a problem with the first. For me it the patch of framing cloud missing that should ideally have continued into the top left corner. Without it, there is something not quite right and I think as you pointed out, it looks cluttered and unbalanced.