Mount Magazine Sunset

I took this picture Sunday from the Petit Jean River valley overlook at Mount Magazine, Arkansas. The sun was setting behind Sugarloaf Mountain, 45 miles to the west and across the Oklahoma state line. The mountain on the left is Poteau Mountain in the northern Ouachitas.

I would appreciate your comments on the mountainside in the foreground. It is a blend from a more exposed shot. I've already darkened it quite a bit; it starts looking doctored when I try to make it any lighter. Do you think maybe it's still too light?

John,
I love the image.....to me, the photograph is more about the layers and the detail is sort of distracting, so I perfer to see it darker.
Joe Rogers

John, I would not change a thing. Very nice image.

I agree with the others. I really like the image but I wonder if your eyes would actually see that much color when looking into the sun like that. I don't find it particularly distracting though since the sky is so bright but it could be just a bit darker.

I do like the image as it is. This would have been an ideal place to do and HDR. Of course that takes extra processing time... The layers are the best!

This is really nice John, you handled the light very well. Good job.

This looks really nice, John - what a gorgeous sunset. I wouldn't touch it

I think the shot is great the way it is, and you might have already tried this to see if it would work, but I would take a stab at getting the blacks in the foreground a little darker if it could be done without losing much detail.