The light was very, very flat; even so, the tonal range was too severe. So first I compressed the overall tonal range by:

1. Publishing separate versions from the same RAW file that are each optimized for the shadows and the highlights.
2. Then I recombined the images with DRI Pro (by Fred Miranda).

Once the over all tonal range was adjusted, then I adjusted the contast mostly in the mid-tones as needed and adjusted just the bright sky and ocean separately from the Cypress.

Given that there isn't much color in this scene, especially with the very flat light, I converted to a B&W using the Channel Mixer in Photoshop.

Visually, one's eye comes to rest on the cliff then dances back and forth between the detail in the Cypress and the cliff. Also, the lines from the horizon and the cliff's edge point to the visible cliff face. That visual tension is a metaphor of the tension between the trees and the cliffs that is occuring as the cliff slowly crumbles away and the roots try to hold it in place.