Fall path

Took this over the last weekend using my old 20D and 70-200. I tried a few different variations, this one is a very light HDR, with some small changes after with Nik HDR pro 2, and a small amount of lumiosity masking.
It actually looked too sharp, so it was also softened a bit, and the saturation toned down a bit as well.

In my opinion the trail doesn't lead me into the image very well because of the shadows. And it should lead me in. The comp is good, but I think this would be better in cloudy conditions. It could also use more fall colors.

Not much to this shot.
In spite of the title, I find it very one dimensional...no depth and not very much colour.

Since you have image editing on I thought I'd pump it up a bit. It may be too much for some tastes but it does need some more color.

It might do well to dodge a bit along the path itself to help it stand out from the shadows.

You guys must read my mind.After reading what you said I was wondering If a little dodge and burn would help.
My issue is knowing what to do to bring some depth to the image.
In the first few I had way back in the shadows with no detail, but after playing around with some masks, brought that back.
What I have here is pretty much what I saw with my eyes, not a great image, but it had a path leading away.
My issue is using some creativity to make the image actually "better" looking than it really was. I try and sometime it works, but most of the time I get it "wrong".
Color was what I was looking for, but didn't find much, not any reds anyways. I'll work on it some more, thanks guys.

It's hard to see the trail. You have to look for it. It's not doing anything for me. Maybe if there was something on the trail it would help define it a bt more. At fist glance I start looking for a camoflauged hunter somewhere in the frame.

No offense Bsmooth, but this image is like a 1990's jpeg from a bad website. Where your camera is far more advanced than that. You talk as if you are are at least aware about the science as you quoted " Nik HDR pro 2, and a small amount of lumiosity masking." But this capture is lacking the basics... Where is the focal point? Woods in full sun are often VERY hard to get right without certain filters. The contrast of woods in bright sun is brutal.

If I dig deep I can say you have some nice shapes in the detail, but other than that I feel like you need a basic photography class.

I guess thats the challenge,and I like a challenge, but I never said I could type very well
I never was one to go by all the rules anyways, besides I like to take what I like and see.
At least it was from a website, that would be pretty cool in itself !
But it does need a bit of work.

The title is fall path, but I see the trees as being very green. What you are composing in your photos is more important that just taking photos because you're walking artistically speaking.

My take - It's a scene that's lovely up close and in person but it's got too much small detail in it for my tastes.