For Iggy and Marko..

[Fortytwo]

I did not want to imply that something is "wrong". I'm just curious to why you like a different crop better. The more I know, the better I can crop my pictures...

[AntZ]

I like the original in the thread because it makes a feature of the pine cone which has such wonderful flower like pattern and fabulous light and shadow.

[Bambi]

you know this is fun -taking one shot and interpreting it differently just by the crop. it might be neat to do more like this

[Marko]

To be honest Marko, I don't see the point. Normally I'd crop things when I want to remove elements I don't want in the frame. Or if I want to draw extra attention to a subject by making it bigger inside the frame. But in this case I fail to see what's been added by cropping. Can you please tell me why you think this crop adds to the picture.

No prob at all - This was a tough one. I just found that in the original
My eye wandered a bit and I found the left side a bit distracting (hot spot on diagonal branch at left, very sharp foliage on the branch as well competing with the cone) and the bottom edge cone distracting, so I offered a different crop while trying to keep the cone prominent and the lovely background intact. Certainly my crop is not the 'best' crop - that's up to the shot's creator; I just offer an opinion.

Iggy, I'm impressed with your crop as well - it totally works for me.

I'm really liking the different input into this thread. Thanks all!

[Fortytwo]

I see. I didn't find it distracting at first. But I can see why you'd think that. We're used to seeing things from left to right, so I can imagine that it may have caught your eye. Then, cropping it out makes sense. Thanks Marko!

[Iguanasan]

...snip...

Iggy, I'm impressed with your crop as well - it totally works for me.

I'm really liking the different input into this thread. Thanks all!

Thanks. It was fun!

[Bambi]

Thanks. It was fun!

glad to be able to provide amusement if nothing else.