May I join in. It is my experience too, that what I think are weaker shots in a set, often added to tell a story, turn out to be the most popular shots in a set. Maybe because they fall outside of my usual compositional practice.
I am not too keen on cloning out stuff, but I do it occasionally. A couple of shots I made during Covid had all those paper "do not sit here" markers fouling up the shot. So I removed them, in two different locations. I went back the year after and reshot both places as they were nearby. I feel more comfortable with un-cloned shots.
This is an interesting building, which I will explore again when they have finished working inside, as it is quite spectacular inside too.
The bars are structural, to stop the arches spreading out. An arch has a big horizontal thrust outwards at the base. Gothic flying arches are a much more attractive way of doing things, by taking the horizontal thrusts down to the foundations, if you have the space.
Of course, you may. I totally understand the aversion to modifying photos. I used to have a more strict view myself. The longer I have engaged in this hobby the more liberal my views have become. I am creating my photos for viewing enjoyment NOT to document how a place looks. The viewer is never gone to know there was a Covid sign there, nor will they care. On the contrary, they will be glad they didn't have the distraction when viewing the photo.
I do have concerns about the progress in AI, though. I feel like a photo should be MOSTLY real. Your skill and eye when snapping the shutter should matter a lot.
Commonly, this shot would be approached from a low viewpoint, stretching into the distance. But I like this unusual perspective. I don't like the leaves on the bottom left and, unlike Nigel and Steve, would clone them out in a heartbeat. From my point of view, and it sounds rather grandiose when I say it but I don't mean it to be, I am trying to create art, rather than simply document something. If I like the shot, then I'm happy enough. I'll take on board any feedback but am generally confident in my own judgement nowadays. That doesn't necessarily apply to the stuff that I sell of course.
That is a staggering amount of detail. I occasionally wish I had more to call on with my humble Oly, but then I would struggle to carry anything heavier on my mountain hikes. It does have a hi-res mode, but that would require a tripod. I tell myself that when I do my 'art' shots with ICM and multi-exposures, extra resolution becomes superfluous.
I think we would all agree on that, but the ongoing lack of a threaded format makes it tiresome.
I have been known to remove rubbish bins and notice boards, but rarely overhead wires. I think I've become more tolerant of them over time 😁 Often things like a spider's web of wires are an important part of the local scene. I don't think I've ever added anything in except in fun.
Gabriele Basilico a famous Italian Architectural photographer made good use of the spiders web of wires that you see in Italian cities. It sort of marks out his work very often. So I just now tend to accept them in my pictures, along with all the other flotsam and jetsam of modern life.