Photo Critique 2-7

It was suggested that I post my questions here rather than the feedback column. I'm relatively new to photography and have thick skin so please provide feedback that will help me learn.

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In my initial sort, I didn't think this photo would make my favorites list. There was no rule of thirds to apply, etc. However, it was on my screen saver and every time it popped up, it would always catch my attention due to its layers, the trees, the mountains, and then the beautiful sky.

I typically only use photoshop to crop, but am not adverse to doing minor editing if it will help the photo.

Looking at the photo, it looked to be taken in broad daylight, so I wonder why such a high ISO? It's a nice shot....just wonder about the settings.

Jack, I haven't learned to be patient about shooting. I knew I wanted a high depth of field and shot at F/20, I'm guessing I had it set on Aperture priority.

Nice colours and crisp but not sure about having a centre of interest the trees make it too complicated for me.

In my opinion while technically it is a good photo, meaning it's well exposed, properly focused, has good color balance etc., it's also lacking a clear subject or story. That being the case, it's kind of pretty but it's not very engaging.

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Looks good technically. But from an engaging aspect, there is really no story telling. I am left wondering what you wanted me to see. What was your vision of this image.

I understand the comments about the center of interest and story. I felt the same way at first. However, the more the image pop up on my screen saver the more I realized that the story was in the lines and layers. The burned out trees are of primary interest. There is a short foreground with the green foliage. The the lines in the trees take you to the back of the image, where you see the mountains and the sky.

An composition that is often considered ideal is an s-curve drive coming from the bottom corner and taking the eye through the entire image. I believe the lines in the trees do this. Everytime I look at the image I pretty much skip the foreground and go right to the trees, inevitably my eye leads me to the mountains and then the sky.

Perhaps have one tree closer as the focal point showing more detail and the rest in the background with the mountains it might work better - but as I said I am no expert.