here is a picture from another direction -- as you can see, the tree is growing branches directed sideway towards north (weird as it may sound).

and here are the top branches

I just leave all the tiny branches inside the inner 'core' of the canapy and lob off the thickest, tallest parts at the very top. I'm 6ft 2in and if I can't reach up and touch the top of the tree on my tippy toes off the ground then I cut it. Seems to have worked pretty good the last few years. My Montmorency has been in the ground 4 years now.

In my opinion, there really isn't a wrong way to prune...to me its all trial and error... if i take off too much, oh well..it will grow back...I was pruning today... For my sweet cherries, which are on gisela 5...i pruned that back to around 8ft or so, just so i can net them easier...i also removed a couple of thicker branches... With cherries, if you want fruit in my yard, you have to net..and in that case i keep them small... I'd love to chop them off at about 3 feet and ufo them, but i hate to lose out on fruit for a year or 2... With most of my trees this year, i've thinned the centers (more open)...just because pests seem to concentrate on the interior (beetles/curculio) and its a little harder to get spray in there...plus more light gets inside (dries it out faster/ripening)... we'll see...