Please help me choose

[Orio]

I need to choose one of the two following photos for my Lake Como series.
I can not keep both because they are too similar, but I can not decide which one to choose.
Please choose one, left or right:

_

(both taken with Distagon 1.4/35)

[Attila]

Right. Better light on center part.

[Himself]

I agree.
The second one. The 2 central buildings/houses are better exposed.
Just tell me it wasn't hand held.

[Nikos]

[visualopsins]

Well, on the hill left side, in right photo the highlights look like unnatural flare; I wasn't there, maybe that is how it looks.
Can more dark detail be recovered from left photo original?
But the water. On right I see S-curving from foreground to extreme background, not in left side photo, that wave lower right helps lead the eye.

Must keep only one?

[Orio]

@ Sorin: yes, handheld, f/1.4, ISO 1600, 1/250 shutter time the left one, 1/200 shutter time the right one.

@visualopsins: doesn't it suck when you need to necessarily choose one? Yeah, I need to make a choice, it would look redundant in the series to keep both.
I'm not sure to understand the flare part

Aside from the small shutter speed difference, there is another difference between the images:
in the right image, I slightly stretched the highlights to the right of the histogram
(which created the "better central light" impression that Attila and Sorin noticed).
The left image is "as nature created", or maybe better said, "as camera recorded".

Thanks for the comments, they are very interesting, and it's very instructive to read which things others would choose your image upon!
_

[Orio]

Please keep your choices coming!

[visualopsins]

I would keep both. To choose one for use is another matter. I have learned my tastes and selection abilities change with time, improve hopefully , my selections change too, maybe I discover a missed winner or perfect photo for current project, sometimes by accident, among archive, or someone I don't know yet sees something I didn't. I also like sometimes to see all photos made during a time, imagination takes me there again with my memories of the time and, I get to review all the mistakes I made , get reminders for improvements, go nostalgic, whatever, it is fun sometimes in stead of tv to watch archive slide shows.

, I meant comas not flares. The lights here have coma look similar to stars edge of star field photo. 100% I can't see if coma or maybe camera shake effects.

[Orio]

[Katastrofo]

I like the second one better, the snowcapped peaks are brighter as are
the lights.

[patrickh]

Definitely the right


patrickh


Light looks more natural


patrickh

[spleenone]

Right one... that third of shutter is very important to me. Also less sky is my reason.

[hexi]

The light on the second image is better, but in the same time composition in the first gives and equal part to each element, the famous 1/3 rule : ) if you can deal without it's fine.

I'd also like to see the shots in b&w version, maybe the decision would be easier and a new eye maybe. ah theories ^.^

[bogolisk]

I like the 1st one... a bit more. It has more a sense greatness.

[Nesster]

the proportions of #2 + the lighting tricks make it sell more

[Olivier]

Right because, for me, of a better eye traveling in the picture.

[fish4570]

The left. There is too much water in the foreground of the one on the right. Water ceases to be interresting if there are no waves or fog or a boat to increase interest.
You might could go with the right one if you cropped about half the forewater out to add impact to the land features ...

[Orio]