Piease help me choose

[Orio]

I am making a selection of not more than 100 photos (but if I'll be able to keep it at 50 photos, even better), to represent my 20 years as more or less "committed" photographer.
These selected photos will end up in my main web site. I will not host my full series there, or at least, not immediately. I want that the site that represents me, only hosts a restricted selection.
I need to choose one between these two Paris photographs. I am undecided, and I can use your best judgement to make a choice.
They are of course two completely different photos, although taken exactly in the same position at only a few seconds difference. I can not however keep both:

[Katastrofo]

First photo, without a doubt. The human element adds considerably more
interest to the scene.

[rbelyell]

i like the balance and uncluttered feel of 2 better, as well as the way the subjects line up. it conveys a feeling, or mood, like a lonely early morning...

[DigiChromeEd]

No.2 for me definately! The car in the foreground in No.1 spoils it for me.

[tobbsman]

definitly #1 for me, the car doesn't desturb me, it's "street life" photography anyway.

Cheers
Tobias

[eddieitman]

I would say a combination of Both, I have done this so you can see the effect its a 2 minute cut and paste job before i go to work so dont have teh time to do it correctly but just to get the feel.
I know that it is terrible if i get the opportunity this afternoon i will do it properly

[Orio]

Thanks for the opinions!

[my_photography]

I like the human factor + the movement but without the car.

[Jesito]

I vould vote for the #2, I like the lonelyness it transmits.

Regards.
Jes.

[tobbsman]

it's much more easy to clone other way round:


1 minute work, can be optimized still ...

Cheers
Tobias

[Gurdie]

I think it depends of what kind of feeling You´d like to convey. There are people and cars in #1, but they don´t seem to be the subject of the pic, so at least for me, the subject of #1 is the MOMENT.

#2, without people, creates a mood of loneliness, like Jesito said.

I´d crop the lamppost feet from both corners, too.

[visualopsins]

What a dilemma! Both are very strong images. After seeing action in #1, #2 looks very stark, deserted and bare, the action is distant, everything is moving away from the scene. Exposures appear slightly different, #1 is slightly better, note highlights on distant dome & spire (follow the light poles). I think the car in #1 is necessary for overall balance, but it does distract some attention from the rest of the scene. I cannot decide between them which I like best!

[mmelvis]

The first image as the people add movement to the image. This causes the eye to wonder more around the image. There is more going on in the first image, appeals to my eye.

[LucisPictor]

[Laurence]

Number 2, for all the reasons mentioned above.

[Orio]

Thank you all for your advices!
When it comes to snapshots, I am usually against altering the reality beyond the simple fixing of defects;
however, if Robert Capa's and Doisneau's most famous snapshots are actually fakes, and the people knows it, and the critics know it,
and yet they keep being celebrated for those photos, well... who am I to not try to do the same?
So, I took the advice of mixing the pictures, and I only used the man - not the cars, not the other people crossing the road.
This way I hope that the frankensteinized photo might keep the best of both: the human element adding interest, and the vastness of the square suggesting loneliness.
Well, you let me know. At this point, the choice will be between this frankenstein version, and the #2 - I reckon that #1 with all the closer traffic is not my choice in any case:

[IAZA]

#2

[poilu]

[eddieitman]

Removing the people on the crossing causes a huge empty space that causes my eyes to only focus on one element thats the person walking. The people on the crossing add balance making my eye focus on the building first and then make the eyes wander and examine the whole scene.