Spring is coming...

[Plumcrak]

Finally, the trees are staring to bud, the flowers are starting to emerge from the soil and things are slowly coming back to life!

C&C always welcomed.

[Mike Buckley]

The simplicity and detail of the second one works for me.

It appears as if you might have sharpened the sky. If so, I encourage you not to do that.

[Geoff F]

The simplicity and detail of the second one works for me.

It appears as if you might have sharpened the sky. If so, I encourage you not to do that.

A quick run over the sky area with a light blur brush will help to reduce the slight 'noise' in the sky.

And a slight tighter crop on the first one will help to reduce the over complicated and distracting background.

[cliffmccartney]

Agree with Mike & Geoff.

#2 is a great shot. It might have been nice to see the part of the plant that's cut off on the right side.

Well done!

[Plumcrak]

Thank you all for your comments, they are much appreciated.

Here is the original of #2, just re-sized for here.

I cropped the end of the branch because it fell out of focus and that kinda bothered me.

[Mike Buckley]

Interestingly, if you crop the top of the original and do nothing else, it will have an edgy look that will be very appealing I think to many people. It's not the sort of style that I appreciate, but others do.