I think you used a tele lens for this one, as you might know it is alwats best to pump the lest with a +2 exposure compensation as teles usually ends up loosing light (brightness) which i think it what your image is lacking
Alsternativeli use the Curves in PS to pump the contrast
I don't feel this is high contrast. It all looks rather dull to me. I don't like the composition either. The trees in the foreground are distracting rather than framing the image. The water pulls my attention downwards, the rocks sidewards, and the trees upwards. 4.
Definately a sucker for the scenic shots which seem to be few and fra between on DPC. This one is very nicely done, love the composition. The horizon seems to be a off, straightening would really bump the score. Keep up the good work.
I really like this image - it's certainly a beautiful spot! I think I would have liked it even more for this challenge if the colors of the rock popped out a bit. As it is, they look a little flat.