Mary, those cones are very fresh looking and makes me long for spring. Living in the forest I like the view very much, makes me feel right at home
I think you have some good thoughts about filling in those shadows a bit with a reflector and that is what I'd do myself.
Visually the cones perhaps would stand out better had you not included the sky in the shot, its brightness draws attention from the cones and also because the sky creates a dividing line directly through the subject which can be hard to pull off.
As for suggestion, come spring you could perhaps play around a bit to see if you could invent a shooting angle to keep both the branches and the cones in focus?
Many thanks for sharing
