Being a not-so-talented aspiring photographer, I've followed this thread trying to pick out some of the things you do right that are "by the book". Granted, there are a lot of shots that work well--both in general and in this thread--that would not be predicted with textbook suggestions, but following those formulae can be helpful. This picture looks to me, technically, perfect. And I love it. Very nice shot!
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...3/DSC02635.jpg
The exposure is spot on; the contrast of subjects in foreground, midground, and background is delightful; it follows the rule of thirds almost to the T; the repetition of lines in the wheat is very interesting; and the color contrast is marvelous. Time to go try to duplicate...