I think I prefer the idea of the second crop, but find the flare and out of focus horizon distracting, so I'd vote for the first. Love the colors and textures of the snow.
Very good eye on this! I like something halfway between the first and the second actually. I think #1 is cropped too close on top. I would crop #2 just above the tree's. I think the tree's up there add an important element. The problem with #2 as others have mentioned is the flare spots. Fix that or open up the crop on #1, and you will have it.
I really like the first version which, for me, has much more impact than the more conventional conception of the second. I find the sky and trees a ditraction from the real beauty of the shot (the fallen braches and delicate shadows, as well as the warm colour in the snow) which comes across so powerfully in the cropped shot due to the concentration of the composition.
Why would you think the first not to be a landscape It certainly is! And it's a very beautiful one, beautifully captured in the first.
#1 for sure! The beautiful pinkish glow on the ice is better emphasized and not detracted from by the bright sky, imho
And it most certainly is a landscape!!
Gorgeous, delicate image.
