I believe that the picture above looks good because of the slight opening in the trees that is visible at the center. It just hints at a possible tunnel, a passage, that leads into the forest.
The small picture below was taken at the same day—it contains many of the elements form the picture above: the red foliage on the ground, the green moss on the stones, the soft gray fog in the background and the black trees as contrast. However, it lacks some of the depth that the main picture has.