Extremes of lighting here between the shadows, and the sunshine Nichole
It's not an easy thing to pull of, and isn't always possible to correctly photograph at all !! just ask yourself does this upload look right.
Phil Flossman doing a CCR
i d say for my part that it is sur that some parts are overexposed(due to strong light from the sun)and even though it is a really nice view the tree is shot from too near, a little farest would have (i think) made a better compo, just my opinion, i encourage you to keep trying, effort is important, almost always ...