Beaver Swirls (one more)

I had seen photos taken from this sandstone ledge on Beaver Creek south of Flagstaff. I thought that the leaves might be near prime based on what I had seen recently in Sedona. Shane McDermott was gracious to show me this spot hidden off the trail.

#1 30-second exposure with CPL and ND8

#2 3-second exposure

#3 This cluster of sycamore leaves caught on a branch created a nice roostertail of water.

As always, preferences, reasons, suggestions and honest brutality accepted.
I kind of liked the large amount of black in the LLC of #1. Opinions? Shutter speed suggestions-too slow or do you like the slowness?

I think 3 is the winner here. I also like 1 and 2, but the bg seems a bit confusing/busy and im not sure how you can eliminate it without ruining the comp. But i like the fg red rocks and swirls--exposure looks good to me.

I agree with Stan about #3 and of the other two I prefer #2. The background is a bit distracting and I'm wondering if there is an exposure further to the right shot as a vertical and cropping tight to include only the swirls and the falls. I might crop #2 as a panoramic but that places the falls dead center in the image which also bothers me. No nits other than those. Looks like a primo location.

Number 3 gets my vote...very unique! I agree with Bill and Stan that the others look a bit busy although I do like the leaf swirls in the second one a lot.

I like the third one the most because of it's uniqueness, the others are good, but as others had noted the bg looks busy. The swirls in the first two are what catches my eye and they seem to stay there.

All of these are slightly different and I like something about each one of them. I don't mind the busy trees in the background of #1, they give the scene context and added color. The shutter speed seems perfect to me in #2, I like seeing just a little bit of detail in the leaves instead of total blur, additionally I like seeing the higher angle and more of the pools in the upper right corner. #3 is quite artistic with the radial blur-like effect of the rushing water on the left side interestingly balanced with the clearer, more serene water on the right. Compelling trio of shots Doug.

Really like #2 with the patterns in the water. The leaves in the water really add a lot to the image.

Thank you for the comments. I liked the black space and angle of the rock in 1, but also in retrospect wished for a shorter ss to give more leaf detail lilke in 2.
Stan, I guess the only way to minimize the background would be to crop down as far as is aesthetically possible.
Bill, I have a shot from further right, but could not get a pleasing crop. How about this one taken from the other side?

Numbers 2 & 3 do it for me.