Love the technique and how you've used it. I like both versions, too, but would at least tone down the bright sky spot in the original -- the real interest is in the tree trunks, and the small bright area draws my eye there. Reminds me of Freeman Patterson's work, which I admire greatly.
Nice image Chris! Fabs has done some magic here. The slight crop and and added warmth brought more order into the image. I would probably experiment with Fabs version to lighten up the darker reflections a bit to reduce the impact of greater visual transitions.