What a fantastic shot this would be if those bushes on the right weren't there!! As it is it is still very nice, giving a great sense of freedom and space. Good job, and I think it works weel in BW.
The composition is very nice and I like how the hills fade away into the distance. The solar flares while faint are visible enough to distract and do little to enhance the photo. While hardly noticeable, I would of still have taken advantage of the advanced rule set and cloned out the sensor dust. I'm not sure if the flares would of fallen under the major element clause or not.
I'm really appreciating the composition here, how all of the lines are leading the eye to the tree. Would flipping the image strengthen that effect even more?