Boon said:#2 for me, good tonal range there.
CT said:I prefer No2, but as Robert picked up on, you're losing detail in the shadows Dave. I know the punchy contrasty style has a following, and I'm probably an old fashioned git, but technically there's no good reason for losing detail, it's not a silhouette.
I just think the 2nd shot needs some selective adjustment to the shadow areas to show a little more detail, which is no different to the dodging and burning you and Ansell Adams would have done to achieve the same thing in the darkroom.
Bachs said:I always try to achieve pure black through to pure white and as many intermediate tones as I can squeeze out.