Sunlight

The focal area would be a mixture of the darkness of the tree and the brightness of the sun. Because the focal area isn't just one particular spot, your eye moves nicely throughout the rest of the photo.

The backlighting of this photo makes the sky look more interesting. The silhouette of the tree gives this photo a mysterious appeal to it.

The contrast in the colors give the photo a full range of value and an makes it even more fascinating.

If I could do something differently, I would remove what looks like a piece of string hanging on the bottom left part of the tree. It distracts and bothers me and I didn't even notice it when I took was taking the photo but the backlight makes it stand out.
I would also take out the two twigs sticking up out of the bottom left corner of the photo so the bright sun stands out more without distraction.

Alex Eckhart
12/6/12