PHRubin wrote:
I usually post process my photos for contrast bending the light curve. I rarely, but sometimes, declutter by removing an object. I am biased against adding false skies and such but if creating an image to be appreciated as a painting, I guess I wouldn't mind.
In this case, I agree that the items in the background detract from the image and should be de-emphasized by darkening. For the given examples, I prefer the original.
Thank you for your comments. They are appreciated.