Seemed like a good location?

[TallDude]

I've been shooting sports for about 4 years now and feel comfortable picking my spots. Lately I've been playing around with landscape shots. Changing f-stops to play with DOF. I was driving into some local mountains and decided to see what I could do with the "scenic overlook" Given it was near sundown, a hazy horizon, and a sad amount of trash laying about, I made an attempt to compose something.
Photo 1. is just the overlook un-composed for a reference. Photos 2. & 3. are my attempt at finding a shot.

 

[deeky]

In my opinion, in #2 the wall dominates too much of the shot. It's a shot of a wall and the panorama gets lost behind that. I think you were going for the leading lines, but those usually sweep in at an angle and lead you somewhere. This is pretty much a square on shot of the top of a wall.

#3 is closer to what you were aiming for. The dof separates the front plant from the background. But there is still too much going on down there. It's a little tough without knowing what else was around it, but I would have playing with shooting from a lower or higher angle or from a different side.

 

[TallDude]

I feel the same way about both #2 and #3. 2 had a geometric appeal to me, but that's it. 3 was more what I was looking for, but too much content and lack of subject, which is where I was really struggling. It's a little harder when you don't have eye's to focus on. There was a lot of trash and graffiti laying around. I probably should have used my UV filter cut the haze a little. There was a cross where someone lost there life down the hill. The smell of urine and the amount of trash prevented me from venturing down the slippery slope and trying to get a lower angle. I'm sure there was a shot to be had, but at what cost?