"The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place; from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web." Pablo Picasso
John,
This was a tough shot to pull off with the wide contrast between shaded stump and sunlight background. The stump is near perfect and the water is gorgeous but the sky is blown out. Is there any way you can add some colour back into the sky? I'm guessing the HDR guys would say this is a perfect candidate for their process, mixing the sky from one exposure with the stump from another.
You've captured an evocative image, definitely worth the effort. :)
♥PJ 005