I'm guessing these are twigs poking up through water or ice? Without the title I'd have had no clue what I was looking at to be honest. With better exposure and contrast -- achievable in-camera and without less restrictive challenge guidelines -- this one could have been a contender IMO.
This might be very minimal but, there still needs to be some frame of reference as to where these twigs fit into the world. Right now they just look like they are floating in air.
I really like this one, it just stopped me in my tracks. Im not sure how you did it but its great. I'm not sure I like the vertical lines between the elements, would have been better w/o them (imho) but still very good ..