Vertical and horizontal frames - part 1

I took the photographs for this exercise whilst we were on a winter sports holiday in the Tyrol region of Austria. Snow and mountains therefore figure frequently in the images. I took just over twenty examples, but only fifteen of these were interesting enough to assess. The images were all taken with Nikon D 200 using a 18-70mm zoom lens.

Subject 1: Hotel Krystall

The initial vertical image was not very succesful. The hotel is too small in the foreground. The morning light striking the mountain behind is distracting attention from the main subject. Also the foreground is reasonably messy with posts, railings etc.

The horizontal frame is far more successful, as more of the hotel is in the frame. The hotel is better balanced with the sunlit mountain behind. The foreground is less obtrusive.

Subject 2: Sunset at Weidach village

The colored sky dominates the picture, but this is reasonably balanced by the roofs and street lights in the bottom portion of the frame. There is a line of black trees across the frame, but this does not seem to act as a barrier to the eye moving across it. The large expanse of sky permits the eye to see the diagonal rays of shadow and colored shapes in the clouds.

The sky is brighter, but the diagonal rays of shadow and shapes of the clouds are partially out of the frame. The foreground snow and houses are rather more prominent, especially the yellow van. Inclusion in the frame of the area at either side adds nothing to the interest of the image.