Ben,
As always, I learn something from your posts
I actually like the slight convergence of the wall features in the 1st
For some reason makes me feel the height...
For light backpacking, I've been using the Lowe Pro Sport series for the hydration features.
Just a MF kit for now, but have a plastic 4x5, one lens kit I'm trying out.
My favorite is the first one here, the tree has some very interesting shapes and curves. Ben, Have you ever tried Rollei ATO2.1 orthochromatic BW film? I have exposed about 20 sheets with my Intrepid 4x5 and get about 100MP worth of resolution out of it with Epson V800 flatbed scanner. It shows almost no grain at all and is frighteningly sharp when developed with Rollei low contrast developer to give about 3-4 stop worth of DR. It could suit your compositions which are not often backlit but in reflected light.
Macodirect sells it and it is very cheap for trying out.