Help with cropping

[IanWorthington]

I'm in a quandary how best to crop this photo for best impact. My instinct is to do so fairly tightly (as in the second image), but I know my composition skills are pretty weak so I'm tempted to use basic techniques such as "thirds", which would suggest a cropping as per the first image.

Yet I'm not happy with it. Can someone with a better eye for these things help me to understand what's the best to do with it?

Or is it just a poor photo to start with that I should abandon?

Thanks,

ian
...

[photofun]

Ian, I like the second cropping and I think it holds for the rule of thirds also. If you imagine the rule of third lines you'll notice that the reflection of the sun would be around the lower left intersect and the horizon is a bit off from the upper third. I'm guessing you don't any more of the sky in your original. Trust your instincts - they're usually right.

[klew]

There is a lot of "nothing" in the bottom half, but after seeing both images, it would be hard to know that the cropped image is from a higher altitude.

[wulf]

It is a shame to have so little room for manoeuvre at the top of the image. I might be inclined to try cropping down to a 16:9 ratio, which is familiar from widescreen films. Remember you can also crop it left and right will give proportionately more vertical height.

Wulf

[edwud]

I feel the long thin crop works very well and removing the black area at the bottom of the picture makes for a more pleasing image - maybe try adding a little more of the black but thats just personal taste. Lovely photography by the way!

[IanWorthington]

Many thanks for all your comments.

ian