j siddens Dead Tree, Sky

Very nice range of tones & an interesting DOF -- gives it a bit of a 3D look.

Jeff:  Nice tones.  But why is there such a large black falloff on the right upper?  Is that the polarizer?  Also, it appears that in your processing you may have over darkened the blue sky leaving a lot of artifacts, an overly grainy effect.  I find I get similar effects and either have to back off on the blue slider or add a little blur.  Nice shot.

Thanks for the critique, Alan. That is helpful. Yes, I have a tendency to edit too dark and contrasty/dramatic and then I have to back off as you suggested. The print doesn't look as glaringly manipulated as the jpeg here, but a little less drama would improve the picture.