No, they were not. Both were shot on film, and then negative scanned. I am not certain what to look for as far as noise goes in the image to figure out how to cure it.
Thanks. it's a fun picture to take since the water is only there when the valley is flooded in the spring melt. I think I should upload a copy I did after doing noise removal.
Since the first comment, I did some research on noise in digital images and have gotten some software for it. As to more scan detail, I use a Canoscan FS 2710 negative scanner. Save the file as a TIFF, then edit. The second shot on the screen doesn't differ much from enlargement prints I made from the original negative as far as the color saturation. I confess the first one is an experiment, as I put the cloudy sky into the image since the original was pretty boring when it was empty.
Did you do something funky with the first shot? The contrast of some of the elements in the pic look different from the others.
On my screen (which is calibrated, but...) it also looks like the color balance might be a bit out of whack... someone else mentioned the saturation.
I'm not familiar with your particular scanner... I have a Nikon CoolScan one lying around here somewhere. My experience was you generally wanted to be sure to set exactly what kind of film you were scanning as it could have a big effect on your results. (brand, make, as well as ISO, etc.)
On the noise stuff... some scanners have built-in noise and scratch reduction. My Nikon one does an AMAZING job with this, but you have to figure out how to turn it on and sometimes the software can be cantankerous.
BTW, there is a REALLY cheap application out there called Vuescan. It's a little clunky on the interface but it is WITHOUT EQUAL when dealing with negative scanners. The author also supports the app extremely well and when you buy it, you get a license with free upgrades in perpetuity. I found it had an unbelievable impact on my ability to scan negatives successfully.
They are wonderful images, but they are a bit flat in parts (maybe haze or something). With a little noise reduction and some sharpening and contrast, they could be stellar.