Welcome to my next edition of "Runner Up!" Given the two images here, "Fall River" and another taken the same day at the same river, I strongly believe the top image is the better (of course all art is in the mind of the viewer, so you may feel differently!)
In the top image, I love how the eye is drawn to the distant trees and water by the reflection in the river, and how the distance has a partially foggy, misty feel softening the mood of the image. The trees on the river sides and leaning over the river frame the primary focus of the photo, as do the rocks in and around the river. There is secondary interest amid the rocks and trees, but they do not overwhelm the primary focus.
The lower image is a runner up, despite the arguably more interesting foreground. I do like the water rushing over the rocks, and there are interesting rocks and tree trunks along the river. But rather than the soft, colorful trees in the distance, they are in full sun and thus harshly lighted as well as being less colorful. There is no leading line to the distant trees: the river is blocked by a line of dark boulders, and the lighter toned path along the river's edge is so busy it stops the eye's flow. Further, the forested top half has bright trees behind shaded trees, again adding distracting contrast and making it look messy. Perhaps this image would have been better had I been able to look more down the river and if the sun were partially hidden by clouds.
This bottom image is a good example of the challenges created by taking a 3-dimensional scene and forcing it into a 2-D image. While looking with my eyes, the forest showed interesting layers of the nearby shadowed trees blending to distant highlighted trees. But in a 2-D photograph that depth is lost, making the trees a jumble that takes work to sort out. A good trick to use while photographing is to look at the scene with one eye, removing the third dimension from your perception. You will, alas, frequently find that intriguing layered scenes become a complex mess in 2D.
Thanks for reading!