I learn a lot by comparing my top and runner-up images, trying to figure out why one works and another doesn't make the mark.
I consider the above image on the right a definite runner up. Nice idea, but it just didn't pan out. The foreground drew me to this composition: the beautiful frost, the purple flowers amidst the grasses, and the creek leading the eye into the distance. It was a beautiful spot! But the composition is too monochrome, the flowers don’t stand out from the grasses, and you really can't tell all is covered with frost crystals until you zoom way into the image. Also, there is no nice "payoff" when you follow the creek into the image, just layers of trees. For a real "payoff", the granite outcrops are too small, the sky is boring, and the splash of dawn sunlight on the mountains is insignificant. I also don't like the way the creek is half cut off in the lower left. I still think this was the best compromise image, but this time (as is usually the case) I couldn’t make pieces fall in place. For instance I tried getting much closer to the flowers, but then the creek was hidden by the grasses. When I moved deeper into the creek to include more of the creek, the flowers and grass were too small and no longer the focus. I _should_ have make the shot only about the flowers in the frosty grass, and completely ignored the creek and mountains.
I think I did a better job with the next image.
This one is also about the foreground with creek leading to the distant mountains as supporting actors. But here there is more interesting variety throughout. There's still a lot of yellow and orange, but it's not nearly as monochromatic as the left image. I like the way the shape of the rock fits in the space made by the creek-side brush, and now the creek comes more naturally from the side of the image, still leading into the distance. The top is a decent payoff: the evergreens stand out from the golden meadow, and the sky has interesting clouds.
As I've mentioned, in art there are no right and wrong answers. Do you see things differently?