Fun to catch up on this conversation! Using the combo of B&W with color is definitely a matter of preference & style. Personally, I’m not as much a fan of the style, so I would probably either have tried to compose the photo in a way to bring attention to the subject through composition, or edited it something like what I’ve attached here to draw attention to the yellow leaves. This is a quick edit, so take it lightly, but it gives the general idea of what I thought when I saw your photo. 🙂
The main thing I’d do with your other photo is just crop out that little bit of sky in the upper right. It wants to grab my attention a little too much. 🙂
