._kaa

I agree with everyone who didn't like the grey snow away from the center -- even if it's "the way it was" and not the result of post-processing, the darkish snow and the associated loss of contrast really destroys the winter forest feeling. I would probably call this picture underexposed and I would be willing to sacrifice some of the brightness gradient from the center to the borders, and maybe even sacrifice some highlights in the center in order to make snow freshly white and not dirty grey.

I am much less bothered by the centered/static character of the image. Not everything needs to be dynamic, tilted, unbalanced. This picture is in-your-face centered -- the arch, the light, the tree trunks, etc. -- and if that's what it wants to be, that's fine. For me the counterpoint to the balanced and unmoving composition is the fractal nature of the snowy branches which add... maybe not a dynamic, but sufficient nervousness.

The dog I don't think I care much about. It's just a marker for the center. There's no expression, no movement, no character. This is not a dog picture, this is a winter forest picture.

Interesting... not much recognizable left of a rose here. For me the petals at the top are the best part here -- that red enamel sheen with just a hint of texture is very good. The bottom part is basically just a counterpoint.