Cajón (w/repost)

An Anasazi ruin catching the last light on Cajón Mesa in SE Utah near the Colorado border.
The white background is not helpful here, so the larger version is recommended.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!
The advice I receive here has resulted in some really good improvements for which I'm very grateful.

1/2 sec. @ f16 ISO 100

A compelling comp, John. Love the light on the ruins, and the contrast in textures in the bottom. Maybe a little brighter in the shadowed area?

Well, you know with the middle gray background around the larger version, more detail comes through, so it's probably fine as is. A unique and dynamic image!

Definitely an interesting perspective that captures the scene well. I hoped you don't mind though, as I cropped the image to bring the ruins closer, yet still captures the detail of the cactus and rock. By the way, what species of cactus is that? Looks somewhat like a pincushion.

Ken, I can only see this on my iPad as I'm in France, but I think your crop makes the runs look squashed I'm thinking cropping off some of the right side. It'll make the shot a skinny vertical, but with the wide angle I think John use, it emphasizes the line/movement of the clouds.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll take a look at 'em later.

Id crop the bottom to remove the lens distortion there, but id leave the sides--Ken's version is too tight. Nice light and perspective. Im not sure if all the nice texture on the bottom is strong enough to provide a counterpoint to the lit ruins--it's a close call. Not your strongest shot--but probably a keeper.

Thanks for the help, folks! I cropped the bottom and brightened it up some.
I may revisit this place just 40 miles away to get a fresh view with an eye upon centering the ruin in the composition.

John,

Just my opinion, but I think trying to include the cactus might be too much. (Now, if it had some flowers on it...) The main element here seems to be the ruins and the wonderful light on them. I'd get closer to them, a little higher up, and try to get out there when there's some good drama in the skies to match the ruins. I like the low perspective; it's a lot more interesting than a simple straight-on shot. Perhaps look for a good pattern in the lichen to anchor the foreground? It just looks a little too forced into the wide-angle/big-foreground style here. You might want to try polarizing the sky to add some more contrast in the skies, it it's the right orientation.

Actually, looking at it again, I think I like the color and tonality of the top half of the frame a lot more in the first post than I like the extra brightness in bottom of the frame in the repost. I'd try to split the difference between the two, and work more on bringing up just the foreground while not changing the top of the frame too much.

At least, not having been there myself, that's what I'd start with. Looks like a good subject to return to, though.

I also like the light in version 1 and the ruins in the second version looks too bright to me. I like the composition a lot though ..

I like what you did with the revised version John, wonderful composition with the great light on the ruins and all the textures in the foreground.

I like the foreground and cropped bottom in your revision, but the ruins are too bright, with the reds almost blown out.

Love the foreground cactus, and the light on the ruins. The overall comp is really good, but I would like to see the ruins from a bit more higher perspective. Definitely a place worth returning too.