Well, I like the "color" more. Why? Maybe because is the desert and the contrast between it and the blue sky looks great (for me). However the B&W is very good too.

My feeling, straight off the bat, is that the first works much better than this.

As technically good as this one is, this doesn't have as much "depth" as the first.

Could it be because this is in B&W and the other colour? Perhaps, that could be factor. Proof is to look at both a B&W and a colour version of the first image and decide which works well. I suspect both version would work well.

I just think the first image, on the left side of that picture, defines a layer of depth which makes that image more immersive than this.

(The top right of this image is also too dark.)

I just think that this needs a pay off and one isn't obvious. With the first, there is a feeling of something more further ahead. You don't get a sense of that from this image.

Good picture but the other is better.

This time the colored version wins for me. But both are outstanding....

I go for the B&W, hands down. The color distracts from the textures and patterns in the sand, and the flow of the composition does not stand out. This one is a very, very good image.

I like the color version of the long and winding road... still... both are amazing...

C.

Nice picture David. I got somewhat confused with the desert sand and the dark clouds up above, though...

I love the semi-minimalism of this frame.

Minimalistic - because we look on a dune, and skies. Semi - because each of these factors is filled with textures (tracks) and feelings (moody skies) - It's not an easy combination to capture.

Beautiful.

I feel it's the story that tells and makes the image, and I feel the color version tells its story more strongly. In the B/W version I feel the "story of the sky" and the "story of the dune" are competing for attention. The sky and the dune have comparable textures, and thus the competition; but in the color version the color in the dune comes to the forefront and leads me to the sky. I feel the B/W version lacks that dynamic.

I like your horizontal colour shot, but this too. the B&W treatment is very good.

Very Nice, but where's the Tower?

Thanks everyone, and I agree, it doesn't tell quite the same story as the previous version.

The tones make this shot! The amazing gradation in the sky helps a lot. But perfect placemtment of clouds around the dune makes the composition stronger.

love it, love it, love it.

Very nice perspective & toning!

Hi David,
Were you ever into farming? I'm sensing both crop and rotation (both very popular with farming here in Texas). If I'm right about the rotation, I like it. It seems to give the feeling that I'm driving an off-road vehicle and this monochrome was taken in mid-bounce (though it's a bit too sharp for that). Actually, I'm having trouble deciding between these two. So I want to add in the option of voting for the monochrome you used in the tutorial promo (the gif slides). It's monochrom and full frame (no crop). In it you got the sky to really glow from within the clouds with a bit more contrast than the color version had. The elements of sky and tracks to hilltop are then juxtaposed in opposite corners in a pleasing way, with the sky looking way more serious about the contest.
Sidenotes: that foreground could probably handle ANY ISO with no probs. Mega grain in the texture could hide any amount of noise. Makes a cool texture within the texture of the tracks. Also, in this B&W crop, you can actually see the always enviable 24-70L finally showing a slight bit of sagital blur at the bottom edge. I think it kind of gives the image just a hint of motion. No loss of sharpness from diffraction, though. Cheers!

Thad: no, this wasn't rotated, at least not during post-production. As for your point about adding in the monochrome version of the the first desert tracks shot: I agree, that one works better than this one :)