Hi Ken,
Thanks for sharing this interesing image.
My first reaction when I saw it was "this is a good picture of a subject that is in fact not very photography friendly".
The tones and detail are great, and the total lack of flare in the upper part of the image is remarkable.
Now, why do I feel that this scene doesn't lend it self too much to photography? Hard to day, but I guess that
1. This tree is interesting both in its globality, and it the texture and detail. These are sort of mutually exclusive requirements,
2. The shape of the main branches are such that they end up being parallel to the side of the image over a long distance, which is generally speaking not very aestheticaly pleasing.
All these things being considered, I feel that you did a great job.
Regards,
Bernard