Help me choose

I kinda like both, but I'd like to hear your opinion and whatever C&C you might have.

1.

#1 for me...fits the era of the car.

I like the second one because the red and amber of the lights on the car complement the russet tones in the bodywork.

The second has an eccentric feel with the bright colors in the lights.
I would consider desating the red rims around the big lights just a bit because they are jumping out of the picture in disproportion to the rest.

Yeah, they were pretty bright in the original. I was pretty surprised when I saw what Photomatix produced.

I like the color version best since it shows all the detail better.

That car has a lot of 'optional extras'.

• Sun visor
  
• Amber fog lamps
  
• Spot light
  
• Swamp cooler (passenger side door)
  

Shouldn't this be in critique corner?
There's very little high dynamic range in this shot.

I like the shot. It leaves me wanting to see the car from the diagonal. The color's better to me. I like desaturing when appropriate generally, but am having a tough time liking this one. Might be all the non era backround or maybe just the sepia tone is a bit strong?

thomatis wrote in post #11234852
Shouldn't this be in critique corner?
There's very little high dynamic range in this shot.

Actually, the car is in restoration mode and the non-HDR shot doesn't look half as good.
Lately I'm trying to balance my HDR shots on the border of - "Is it real or is it HDR?". Makes more believable photos.

You can see a larger version of the photo here:
http://farm2.static.fl​ickr.com …49540757_e2df65​aae9_b.jpg

On this one, I'm liking the first one the most. I think the main reason is the red does not fit the image. It seems to ruin the period look. The fog lights are very fitting, but the red just looks out of place. Love the old cooler in the window. You don't see many of those around. Lots of people don't know what they are or how they work. You pull the chain to rotage the cage lined with straw through fresh water.

I remember one of our cars when I was young that had a swamp cooler like that.

Now all this car needs to be ready for anything is a "Desert Water Bag" to hang in front of the radiator.

Yep...forgot about the bag!

second one

#1 for me, that's a winner!