Is this a bad crop-job?

[charlenenicole]

I like the original better!

[SherifG]

Sorry but the pre-cropped one is my choice, showing all the reflection and saying all the story of the photo, when the other cropped leave me predicting the rest!

[JFSanders]

Just my opinion but the picture is too busy for a mirror play. As I looked at the picture and moved it around to simulate different crops I came to this conclusion.

[Cliffs]

Originally Posted by JFSanders

Just my opinion but the picture is too busy for a mirror play. As I looked at the picture and moved it around to simulate different crops I came to this conclusion.

I tried this crop also (more or less) but my intent was the mirror including the blue of the sky, whew...so many ways of composing...makes this ol' man's head spin.

[Chery Woodman]

I, personally, LOVE the first photo the best. The depth and clarity of it are amazing. In my opinion, I would NOT have cropped it at all.

[kjonnnn]

I your reasoning for your crop was off (the rule of 3rd) because you're thinking the focal point of the photo is the branch.. but the focus point, no matter what your intent was, is the bright blue still water. That trumped everything else. NOW, if this was in B&W, your crop might have worked.

[plangereis]

Pre-crop looks much better for a number of reasons. First, like others have mentioned, the blue at the bottom of the photo is nice. Secondly, I like the way the foliage at the bottom of the pre-crop forms a part of the natural frames in this shot.

[Cliffs]

Thanks for the continued comments...you all make me feel like I can do this photography thing...