Pebble Highway

Before cropping...

I like the light in this shot (it was dawn, well above the Arctic

cirle, a photographer dream of 6 hours of golden light!) but I've been

longly puzzled by the best way to crop it...

 

...your advice would be warmly welcome!

You're crop seems to be the best one to go for. Quite dramatic. I love the way the road almost spills out of the frame. It seems to give both a sense of security from the water on either side, and enhances the claustraphobia caused by being sandwiched between the two bodies of water with just a thin, loose gravel path to protect you- I'm hoping that it's not tidal, and I wont get trapped if I decide to cross...

 

Since you asked for alternatives, I've done one, but it's not as good as the one you've settled on.

Indeed, it was tidal, but do not worry, there was nothing to really cross. A view of the area is here.

In the image here above, the red arrow shows the position from where this was shot and the green arrow the direction I shot. So, the highway is an illusion from the wide angle since it effectively, leads into nothing!

The landscape format does give the eyes the long pano feel to travel along the horizon. The foreground pebbles are crisp and provided the leading lines.

 

Just as an alternative option, I was wondering what it would look like if it were taken in portrait format and tilting the camera more towards the ground.

Arthur, that's a good comment. The main reason to shot only horizontal was that, with the 20mm, I have ended up with unpleasent foreground effects many time. What I mean is this bunch of foregorund stones, or rather snow, or rather rocks, or whatever is there, which seems to be falling off the screen and right onto your feet...

Salvatore, I like your cropping. But like in your other images, the black border is a distraction.

This composition with this crop is most pleasing...

Salvatore, I like the crop of your original post. The balance and symmetry both left to right, top to bottom works well. I also love the soft golden light. How wonderful to have six hours of it in a stretch! I like the black border but think I would keep the dimensions the same all the way around. The dimensions on the sides are plenty wide enough.

 

What a beautiful location!