I was out in the Mojave desert for a couple of nights earlier this week (would have been longer but a minor truck issue brought me home early). I had a full day of light rain on Tuesday which provides an extremely fragrant desert. It was heavenly. This was sunrise on Wed.
D850, 70-200mm
Repost
Original
Score! The light on the tree really makes this image, Harley. Excellent.
Harley, as a clearing sunrise this also brings across an eerie look & feel with the skeletal figure perched on the edge here. Truly perfect timing with regard to the small splash of warm lighting on the barren tree …Excellent… 
If there is a decisive moment in landscape photography, you hit it here – wonderfully! Did you have time to move around and shoot hundreds of compositions? What an opportunity!
I wonder about a little more contrast in the distant BG. It was probably hazy but maybe worth a try if you haven’t.
Sweet! That first kiss of light on the tree and the BG desert is sublime Harley. What a great way to start the day. No suggestions from me.
That’s a fascinating photograph Harley, the type of thing I would never have thought to post. At first glance it is not much for me, but after looking more it is a very artistic statement. I love the light on the top of the dead tree, with the chaotic foreground and dimly lit background. It creates a feeling of loneliness and bleakness for me; very emotive.
Cool image. I like it quite a bit. I would probably crop some to make the trees presence a bit bigger.
Stunning image Harley!
This is fantastic, thanks for sharing! If anything, I think the image would benefit from a tighter bottom crop, removing some of the foreground that doesn’t add much to the composition and focusing on the tree and the desert behind it.
Thanks for the comments and suggestions, @Ed_Lowe , @Paul_Breitkreuz , @David_Bostock , @Diane_Miller , @Igor_Doncov , @John_Williams, @Tony_Siciliano and @lorenzo. I went ahead with the crop suggestions and reposted. I appreciate all the input!
I go back and forth on which version I prefer. The crop does a good job further emphasizing the tree, but the full version provides a great feel for the stark environment. I am finding it fun to compare the two.
Yes! Thanks for reposting, I believe it’s better now. If you want to emphasize the stark environment, then you can crop the sky. The original photo had basically 2 scenes in it. By separating them you focus the viewer’s attention on what matters.
I feel the RP conveys the stark environment quite nicely. The tree is more prominent against the dramatic BG, but it probably helps to have seen the original and to know what the environment is. I think @lorenzo has a good idea to crop a lot of the sky if you want to emphasize the FG.
This is outstanding, Harley. I haven’t a single thing to say except it is truly awesome. I do prefer the rework and think it is one of your very best photographs. Congratulations!
