I love the second one especially, enumbers (the gate). Just, how the hell does one get rid of those grey / over exposed / glary skies one always have in the background? I mean, I know you can compose your shot to exclude them, but on the camera itself. What settings does one play with when taking these photies from a shaded area TOWARDS a well lit area and get some sort of harmony between the two? Really peeves me off when I take one like this, a good - no, great, moody, brooding shot - and the sky comes out all pale and shitty. Or does one simply learn to live with them as the cam does not capture exactly as the eye sees?
PS: Hope u r feeling better. Nature should have done it, as she normally does. After our 2 weeks in blue skies and clean air as opposed to Shanghai's grey, polluted skies, I think I know how you may feel after a walk in the countryside.