landscape

1. Yes, I used the rule of thirds. I emphasized it with the land. 
2. I used balance between the field and the hills.
3. My image was taken around 9:30 A.M. It wash't a great time to take the shot but I didn't have much of a choice.
4. I angled the camera downward to place the field in the foreground and keep the hills and sky as a blending background.

1) I think that the channel mixer method produced the best result.

2) Each image had a large value range.