Originally Posted by
Manfred M
+1 to Dave's comment on the dead tree crossing the edge of the frame. One of the most important lessons I learned when doing landscape photography is to run my eye around the edges of the viewfinder looking for things that intrude over the edge (or in some cases get too close to the edge). Readjusting during capture is a lot simpler than fixing the problem in post.
In terms of the processing of this image; the scene has a raw and gritty look to it, so the PP work you did here complements the appearance of the landscape.
I have always considered myself to be a someone who has a creative bent. Anyone who spent most of his career designing things; industrial equipment, software, business processes, etc. has to be creative, but I would never consider myself to be an artist. Using PP to enhance the character of the image you have captured is not being "artsy-fartsy", it's just adding your personal touch to the image you have captured.