These shots wre taken summer of '07
Greenville,California

Comments welcome too, "ie should I play with the camera more often...

Hard to compare such different pictures..
If you had taken the same subject with different settings, maybe it would make it easier for people to say which on is better..
Now it's only a matter of taste for my part cause I'm not an expert...

I think the top photo is better for many reasons. The horizon is lop sided in the second photo. The first photo has a nice composition and a "frame" using the trees on the outside of the photo. It just looks better.

both are very nice shots!

Yea I think the trees in the foreground are more lopsided than the horizion itself. Both shots are the same lake ofc. The first one was shot from cover so the lighting
I think help to bring out everything else more. The top shot has a more oil painting look to the water, The second shot what more caught my eye...not so much the greenery but how center of the shot gave a mirroed effect to the trees smack in the middle of the water with a textured look to the water on either side of it.
The top one however I did enter into a photo contest in '08 and it did recieve some attention. No awards but alot of good feedback.

the bottom one has a bit boring background and this makes it a bit cut unto halfs blue and green.
both arreas dont play that much

Yea by far the Top photo is very nice

top!