Winter Crystal Mill...redo

I haven't been too happy with the post processing of my original posts a few weeks ago. Since then I've been working with layer masks in photoshop. Your thoughts?

Three image tiff hand blend(highs/mids/lows)-color efex filter(brilliant/warmth,)selective soft focus and crop.

Looks excellent, but I see some issues with the sky above the mill.

The water, sky and rocks look nice. To me, the bldg is a little dark?? Maybe just my monitor

Ya know Todd, it does look a little mushy up there. It's not as obvious in the original file. After compressing, it sort of reared it's ugly head. Must go back and fix....again.

Overall, I prefer the image on your website: its warmer color balance makes the snow and mill appear much more neutral and natural. Further, it has better contrast on the textured old boards of the mill. The sky could be a happy medium of the two. This version lacks the drama that the reddish early morning clouds present in your website version, but the rest of the sky color in that version is a bit grey-looking and perhaps could use some of the blues we see in the one posted here.

The Mill was mostly likely as dark or even darker than the image rendered here but for aesthetic purposes consider lightening it up. To me the Mill's the subject. It should have more detail.

I greatly prefer this cooler version, especially in the skies. Another vote for scrounging out a bit more detail in the mill building. I'm glad you reworked this one. I was on the fence with the first, but I've done hopped off of it fast for this version!

I'm with Josh on the greater merits of your website version. Flipping between the two images in different tabs is a good comparative exercise. This one feels too blue - particularly in the snow - and the blues too saturated (for my tastes). I also like the wider perspective in the website version. I'd go with the one on your site, select the sky, select "blue" in selective color adjustments and do some combination of reducing the yellows and increasing the blue saturation to restore some of the natural color in the sky. Then hit print!

I feel like the whole image needs to be lightened, especially the snow, I think that's where the over saturated blues are coming from, brighten it up and the saturation will go away and the snow will look more natural. I like it though, has potential!

I agree with Art. The mill is the main subject and it's lack of detail is what I first noticed.

As one who likes saturated blues, the colors work for me, although I do also like the one on your website. I think the mill definitely needs to be brightened up though. This is certainly a unique view on an often photographed subject.

Excellent critique. One thing I've picked up from you is I need to bring out the shadows in the mill. I'll work on that.

I reprocessed another image. This one came out better in my opinion. It's a two 24mm image vertical stitch. Each image consists of a 3 image blend, for a total of 6 images to render the final product. I really wanted to nail the exposure, and considering the enormous dynamic range, I certainly needed the 6 images.

It's a very wide perspective that might be a first of this mill. Let me know if the branch in the upper left is distracting. I actually think it adds a lot of perspective to the scene.

http://www.kaephotography.com/photo/winter-crystal-river-mill/

The link to the one you just posted is a Christmas Card shot, wall image, whatever you choose...it is great!!

That branch is very complementary to the scene, Kane. The entire image is a complete success, IMO.
Well captured and crafted, and well worth all of your time and effort!

Really like the color in the sky and foreground. Very nice!

I prefer this image (original post) compared to the one on your site. I agree with a few of the suggestions above - fixing the halo around the mill and brightening the mill in particular. I like the blue tones a lot, as they help add the feeling that comes with the last light of day and a sense of the cold of winter. A cool shot nonetheless!