Michelle,

The colors in this scene are lovely, and the combination of not too bright sunlight on the far trees and a hint of mist in the field make for a terrific backdrop. Your title might refer to the apples or also to the visual bounty of the leaves, especially the red-orange-yellow ones on the right. If the middle ground indeed contains the main subject, I find that the red and light-colored leaves in the foreground compete for my attention and create some tension in the image, making it less calm and peaceful. This changes if, for example, the closest foreground part is cropped. With or without such a crop, there is a delightful movement of gentle arcs in the orange leaves, the trunks (mid- and background), the outlines of the foliage, and the boundaries between the short, taller, and tallest grasses. It recalls the fields of southern Minnesota and Wisconsin, where I spent much time before moving to the drier West. Thanks for my daily shot of nostalgia!

Michelle,

Mostly I'd like to see this bigger. It's tough to say much about it (although Steve doesn't seem to have had any trouble) at this size, which is true for most of what we see on the web. It's not a "WOW" shot, so I know I'd be able to see more detail in a larger version, i.e. PRINT. There is a plethora of detail here, but it feels slightly out of range of my vision due to the size.

FWIW, I would have taken one step to the left and included more grass. But then it would be my photo, and not yours. Yours is less fussy and probably more alive than mine would have been.

I'm really trying to be helpful, really! Am I blathering needlessly?

What the image does for me is that it creates a mystery to what lies around the oasis to the right. It provides a visual journey to the unknown. It is kind of cool also to crop out the background completely and crop the top to the fruit tree. It really forces the issue. Boy my mind is working too hard today.
I do like it as presented though.

Thank you for the comments!

I appreciate all your suggestions, but I have to say that I tried various crops and even tried stepping to the side as Kent suggested, but what it all came down to was a feeling in my gut when I saw this in the viewfinder that just felt like this was "right". I had no concious thought involved at the time, just a feeling of "rightness". Initially, I was drawn for the color and the apples, but as I walked around, looking at the scene, it became more of a feeling, instead of a running commentary in my head about composition, color, etc. Even once I had it on the computer, I found I couldn't change a bit of it (cropping) or it didn't feel "right" anymore. I just went with the flow, so to speak. I think that after some viewing of it on my computer, I came to realize that what I liked (as an afterthought) was the curves.

Kent, I had some trouble uploading the photo, so it didn't work out that I had one to show this bigger. I have a satellite connection and sometimes uploading can be troublesome with that 3 second lag time!As you suspect, there is a ton of detail here.