I was going to point out the bush, but you had already thought about cutting the bush :P. With the conditions you described, the foreground was a tough call. Overall great image, love the sky colors and the inclusion of the moon is great.
Great light and reflection. Well done. I understand your point about getting closer. I stepped in sinking mud in Death Valley and it was scary and messy cleaning up later. I have not been there before, so I was curious if you needed an Indian guide in Monument Valley?
Jim,
A truly excellent piece of work. Yes, I like the cropped version better. Good to loose that brush on the left side. Too bad you couldn't keep more of that great AZ sky. Monument Valley is a really fascinating place to explore and photograph. You could spend a week there and still not see and capture everything.
The cropped image is definitely a superior composition. Really well done image, Jim. A lot of great things going on! The reflection is so nice, as are the colors and the bit of snow. Nice one.
The cropped one for me. The sky makes this shot. A little ambivalent about the foreground though. I would have loved to be a little closer but understand why not. Overall love it. Well done, Jim.
You seem to time your trips pretty well or are just plain lucky with great light.
Wonder play of colors. I prefer the 2nd crop, my eyes seem to me directed right to the monument vs. working my way there through the colorful sky. Well done.
Really great shot. Love the colors and the overall tonality of the image. I agree, the crop is better, but I feel your pain about not wanting to lose any of that sky.
Jim, as usual, this is a great landscape. I may be bucking the the trend here, but I like the top, uncropped version a lot better. If you want try cropping, you may try cut 1/2 of the half bottom. That would make you reflection more showy and the not so gracious melting ice gone.
