If you just want to hide the fence, plant a row of tall shrubs in front of it. If you have more goals to achieve than just that, and want someone to apply thought to those things (like views) you'll need to supply photos that actually convey the space you are surrounding and screening. To do that, you would need to stand at the predominant location where you will view the perimeter of the yard where the fence is located. (I'm guessing this will be near the center, back of house.) Try to stand in a position where you can see as much of the total fence as possible. Face the camera toward the left-most position of the scene (try to capture even a little of the house so as to orient people to the scene.) While remaining in the exact same location, pivot the camera rightward and continue taking slightly overlapping pictures until you capture the last one (try to include a little of the house in it, too.) Post the individual pictures, not a panorama made of them. This will allow us to see the complete scene as you would, instead of just disjointed segments.

All of the water-based stains are going to act the same way regardless of color (i.e., becoming more opaque and pronounced color with successive layers). Did your contractor say why he wanted to use water-based stain on cedar? There are positives and negatives to both oil-based and water-based stains, depending on the application. edit - (an "oil-based semi transparent" would have looked more like you wanted it to...at first...however, it is more prone to mildew, so not typically recommended for high humidity areas. in a high humidity area is can actually turn black from mildew, as the mildew feeds on the oils. It also needs to be finished more frequently. I am in zone 5, so I always factor in those when considering the best product for the client's specific application). The fence looks nice, and there is no easy way to change to something else, nor would you necessarily want to. You could always consider options in a few years as fence needs to be refinished again.

What is the purpose of a chain link fence? Too keep animals in or out? How about simple vertical black iron fencing at the back? That’s what I had , but it would only keep larger animals out. It didn’t impact the view. I think the two side fences should match but something else on the back to preserve the view is fine , that’s what my house had.

I think instead of putting a fence in, I'd recommend using landscaping instead. Create a privacy hedge with a walk-through path that will grow fairly tall. May take a little while before it grows tall enough, but it will look so much nicer than putting in a fence, which feels very uninviting. The type of hedge will depend on where you live, but here are a few examples: