Yeah, I like that crop better. The color and shadows looked better in the first one, at least to me. Seems like the contrast has increased. With glossy media there may be too much contrast. This is obviously personal preference.
One comment about cropping: I noticed you are sticking to 4x5 or 2x3. I used to stick to the common ratios, 4x5/8x10, 2x3, 5x7, 11x14, etc. Last year I took Michael up on his
Printing One-on-One session and spent a day with him (highly recommended for anyone, by the way, he's a fascinating person and marvelous teacher). He managed to liberate me from those constraints. Nature isn't cropped, and although one could argue certain ratios are more pleasing than others, I believe the subject should determine the ratio.
Perhaps you are limited by a pre-cut matte board, but other than that, let random cropping begin!
This barn looks like one of many I saw in Eastern TN when I was there a few years ago. Where is it?
Dave Chew