Number 1 shows significant amounts of vignetting. Number 2 draws the eye sharply to the subject without any distraction due to the solid background. Preference? It depends on the taste of the individual.
I gave 10 cents in school toward moving the ship to Mobile. I got a lifetime pass, but later lost it.
I remember (about 60 years ago) giving a dime and I too have lost my lifetime pass...but don't mind paying admission to help keep the U.S.S. Alabama maintained. Thank you Paul for the posting the old pictures (and the new pictures last week). If I had known you were traveling through Alabama I would have bought you lunch.