tommystrat wrote:
. . .Do you think this would potentially be more effective if I cloned out the branches and just kept the pine trees, river and sky? Are the birch branches distracting or do they support the feel I was trying to get?
I think you are absolutely right that entirely cloning out the birch branches would only leave you with "just another vanilla tree / water / sky landscape." But cloning out the top of the birch is important as has been noted. However, I think your "haircut" was a bit severe. I would suggest just cloning the upper tips of the feathery branches on the right (to leave some "headroom" there) and also the main branch but only to just below the tiny branch that goes off to the left. This puts some of the birch into the sky at the top but still gives it a little breathing space. I'm all for including the environment of a scene around the "hero" of the shot, and for that the birch branches are important.