I was in Alaska in mid-Sept and hit the height of fall color in the Denali-Fairbanks area. I was attracted to these glowing red berries in the forest and used a shallow DOF to soften the bkgd into color blurs.
Lovely light in this image. It is like an old painting in which the main subjects glow out of a dark background. Great colors and simplicity. I'm a little distracted by the light area in the center background and wish for just a bit more light on the upper right leaf.
Rich tapestry-like colours and those berries really shine. I agree the light is soft and beautiful. I think it is a difficult image because there is a lot going on in the bg, maybe there is a way of trying to simplfy it more?
I like the composition, the colors, the light, and the soft background. My preference is definitely for the first one. I think it's because of the light allowing me to enjoy the entire scene instead of focusing on the berries.
Classically beautiful! I could go with either version but leaning toward the OP. But the two berries in the center of the OP strike me as too saturated, to the point of losing subtle detail.