Came across this old guy hiking a Utah canyon. I am posting looks from up canyon and down canyon. I am curious if anyone has a preference. I do and a buddy on the trip had the opposite preference.
D850, 24-70mm
Down canyon
Up canyon
Harley: I definitely prefer the down canyon view but love both and envy you the experience for sure. The richer color palette on the down canyon version appeals to me and I find the contrast of the leaves against the darker canyon wall more pleasing. Top notch shots both. 
>=))>
PS: After looking more carefully at the up canyon view I think I would like it better cropped tighter, especially from the left and bottom.
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Great image! My vote is for the down canyon image.
You had a very successful trip this year. The first image is amazing. The tree has a great form but it’s the processing that makes it. Separating the tree from the surroundings by use of color saturation works beautifully. Guy Tal did this sort of thing a lot with images from that area but has moved on to more abstract and symbolic work recently.
I vote down canyon and I also see Guy Tal in the image.
Harley, Both work for me and as others like the first one best…can’t beat cottonwoods in the Utah canyons for subjects… 
Harley I love cottonwoods in the fall and both of these are awesome. If I had to pick, I vote for the first one (Down Canyon) as that seems to be a better candidate for a large print. Excellent images.
I prefer the down canyon view Harley. It has richer color.
As presented, I prefer the Down canyon view, for the richer color of the red rock.
But I think the Up canyon view would be stronger if processed differently. I think the shape of the tree is more appealing in Up canyon. And I like the neat patterns in the cliff to the left. The Up canyon view puts the tree on a better “base”, and I don’t like how the tree blends into the ground in the down canyon view. To me the Up canyon image would get stronger by processing the red rock to darken its luminosity. Here’s a rework that illustrates my suggestion.
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I have not read the upper comments for not to be influenced. I surly prefer the upper version more dynamic, simpler, few details, the protagonist dominates the scene. But the colors are the same and they make the photo for me.
Down canyon for me too Harley. I love the color in those background rocks, and the tree is stronger IMHO. I like the way the yellow and green mixes in that tree better, and the trunks are more alluring. Very nice images!
Compositionally, I like “Down Canyon” best. The diagonals work great here. Sytlistically, it feels a bit weak. This doesn’t say “Harley Goldman” to me. It’s a great picture, but is seems to be missing your signature light.
The down canyon just rocks it IMHO. The tree really stands out against the BG. Sorry, but I don’t really like the up canyon compositionally comparing the two. Excellent shot. 
Definitely the down canyon view for me Harley. The tree is obviously the star of the show and I like it’s center of the frame placement. The colors also seem to be richer in that version which in turn make the yellows of the cottonwood stand out even more against the reds of the canyon wall. I also like the shape of the tree much better from that side. Beautifully done for sure!