[Fangman]

Had this discussion with a pal an hour back - decided to crop the flat sky and possibly a little cloning of the black patch on the right by the post before printing for competition.
Thanks for having a go - it is the reason I permit editing and we all can learn as the whole idea of the forum is to share - and in my case LEARN!

Re Dodge and burn - have you tried New Layer overlay mode and select 50% grey?

Black and white brush (at 10-20% or less) white lightening - black darkens, giving much more control than the dodge and burn tool. The other alternative is the history brush again set at about 15% Overlay mode gives more contrast, Multiply darkens and emphasises colours and screen mode lightens . . . Various forms of "cheating" when we should have got it right in camera!