I had to come back to this thread once I got home where I could get my "real" computer to post something besides words. I shot this on the coast a couple of days ago just before a storm came in near sunset, and it seemed to fit.

Eye contact/facial expression? No
Black and white? No
Color? Not, not that either, just a dull combination of both
Leading lines? Bisecting the frame, leading the eye out of the frame instead of into it, all wrong
Subject placement? Right smack in the middle of the frame

I still kinda liked it, so I'll keep it.

What does color add to the story? For me it's the red dirt that most of us relate to the American Southwest, or other desert areas of the world. So I feel a sense of place: hot and dry, unforgiving.

What would b&w improve? Perhaps to emphasize the feeling of harsh light and parched earth, with the lack of ground vegetation and the tumbleweed. But this version, which appears more sepia to me, lacks contrast and drama IMO, with the tones too similar to have a visual impact.

I'm also having a little problem with the composition as the rock and tree seem to occupy equal space and demand equal attention.

What is your take on your re-worked version, John? You said mixed emotions, so what appeals and what doesn't?

While this article has some in depth thought, which may offend some. I'll have to take a look at MYSELF !!! Albert Einstein is broadly credited with exclaiming “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”. Breaking any rule in photography is a guide to ones own destiny for change. If you always do what you always did, you always get what you always got. Try to be The Dumbest Photographer In The World? If it requires change to grow for the better, then yes, sign me up.