I just "discovered" the first image, after picking the second image as the winner of my last expedition. Many of you already saw and rendered the verdict .
but now it seems to have a rival.
Will go with NR One. I like the gold reflection on the water and the foreground is nice. The cliff seems better exposed in the 1st. Better detail. Too bad there is no clouds like in the second one.
I like #2 best. The mid ground has better contrast and the cascade is much nicer. Now if you had more of the reflection of El Capitan in the second it would be incredible. I suspect a lower tripod would have done the trick. It’s still a beautiful image.
Of the 2 images I would lean towards the second one mostly because it feel like a more balanced exposure while #1 feels a little too cooked for my tastes. That said, the first one has a correct horizon to it while the second one has a fairly nasty tilt in a clockwise direction - about 2+ degrees if you check the level on the water.
The trees just below the sky in the first image have a rather distracting halo as Ray pointed out above and the branch tips in the first one show similar artifacts.
I must admit that both photos look great on my monitor although the rocks look a tad smoother(?) in the second. That said, I prefer #2 because the heightened movement of the water directs my eye into the image much more than is the case in #1.
Thank you all for voting. I sure appreciate that. It seems that the overwhelming majority goes with Nr 2, the one I originally picked, my "first love."
BTW, Phil, you sure analyzed the viewing process extremely well, to the point. It was how I was attracted to Nr 2 and picked it among more than 2 dozens pics I took on that evening. I would say that this one is more "dynamic" than others.
Having said that, my wife ---(my original first love over 40 years ago and still is!)--, she just found one pic that was taken few minutes before the two you see here. She said that it is even better!! Well, that is another story.!
