Towering Upwards at Sunset (to crop or not)

[HermanVonPetri]

Ok, so I'm second guessing my decision to alter a photo I took of the tower on my local mall. It was taken at sunset with the sun silhouetting the tower and illuminating some translucent panels in the middle. Below is the processed/cropped version.



And here is the unprocessed shot straight out of the camera.



Initially, I cropped because I thought that the quantity of sky might be drawing too much away from the subject of the tower, and to make the end of the duct on the left less noticeable. But now I think I could go higher with the photo because the lines of the tower seem to draw my gaze upward anyway. Why fight it? Also, there is a slight color gradient added to bring out the blue in the upper third. Unnecessary for a sunset photo? I think it might be.

Comments and suggestions are most welcome. Thanks in advance
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Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture f/16.0
Focal Length 135 mm
ISO Speed 400
Exposure Bias -2/3 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire
Center-weighted average
Aperture-priority AE

[DanaLane]

I think I like the uncropped version better but they're both good. I think this one would be a purely subjective decision.

[HermanVonPetri]

Thank you for your response.

I'm leaning towards the taller photo myself as well. I think I just needed a second opinion. Thanks

[Barbara V]

The illuminated panels seem to pop more in the uncropped version, but I like how the tower stands out in the first one. It's a tie for me.

[Big Nick]

I like them both, however in the bottom one I think there is a little too much sky. If I was going to do any crop I would crop out some sky.

[smitheyes]

I like the cropped one, for me just too much sky and not enough focus on the subject in the 2nd one. found my eyes just kept wandering all around the original.

[gitim4God]

If I had to pick one I have to say I like the cropped version best, the colors and composition are more appealling. I like DOF of the photo, especially the focus on the wires. However, I have a question, what is this, a sunrise/sunset, silhouette or picture of an interesting subject? It seems there is something missing in the composition. I think this could be an interesting HDR photo!

Tim
Soli De Gloria

[HermanVonPetri]

Thank you all for your input on this. Obviously, not having a super clear intention for the photo could be holding it back.

Tim, I hesitate to say that the actual surface of this structure isn't very attractive, but let's just say that I believe the silhouette does it a bit more justice than an HDR might. I may give it a try though. The biggest challenge is finding a time of year where the sunlight doesn't cast odd shadows across the roof due to antennas, pipes, skylights, etc... Oh, and the rent-a-cops are the type that are afraid of tripods.

For me, the form of the tower with the cables meeting at the top point, and the translucence of the panels were what really drew me into wanting a photo of it. I had worried that the clouds may just be too much of a distraction, but wanted a more interesting sky than one I took on a previous attempt.

I'm attaching to this post the photo I took last year. I'm not satisfied with it. The image doesn't seem sharp enough - especially for the wires - I blame that on having stopped the aperture down much too far to accomplish the silhouette effect. And I'm not satisfied with the framing. It's too centered, and I'd have liked to show at least part of where the wires meet the base. But it will give you an idea of where I came from.
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Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS : 200mm : F/29 : Ex=1/500sec : ISO=100

[Berlee]

I prefer the cropped to the uncropped and I would even crop it more. While the sky is nice-looking, I feel it's distracting. My eye keeps wanting to wander, though I would prefer to just look at the tower.