Project Firelight: first blue pencil

Here's how I visualize the basic layout:

Hokey to the left: Ding to the right.  Kickin' back and roasting marshmallows. 

A few thoughts:

1. The thin line across the midpoint suggests where the "foliage" will stop and the night sky will begin.  There's not enough room for a lot of detail... like a full moon partially covered by clouds (that'd be great!)... so I'm thinking midnight blue highlighted by some bright stars.  A clear night... maybe no moon to explain the brightness of the stars (gotta think of this stuff).
2. The sky is always lightest at the horizon and gets progressively deeper in color the further up you go.  Since the horizon in our picture is obscured by foliage, the gradient representing the darkening sky will be in fairly advanced mode where we see it at the midpoint.
3. There will be foreground foliage both from the ground level (weeds) and above (leaves)... just as in Arriaga's picture.  Things too close to the camera appear out of focus.  So, too, will our foreground foliage appear softened.
4. The furthest foliage points between the tree trunks will be absolutely jet black.  Our guys aren't camping at 6:00 in the evening... it's gettin' on midnight!  The sky by contrast will be a very deep... and I visualize, a very satisfying... indigo blue.  Stars will be so bright as to be almost be white.
5. Light cast by the fire will of course greatly highlight our guys, the rocks (with sharply contrasting shadows) and the nearest tree trunk.  The trunks further away, though, will have their lower areas illuminated by fading orange light that can't climb very high.  Firelight is very bright in proximity, very faint as you get further away.
6. The nearest highlights will be accented by bright, bright, edges.  That again is the nature of firelight.  Intense in proximity, very soft and faint at a distance.

 I want the light to say, "late Spring, early Summer... where the air holds the warmth and there is little to no haze in the distance.  Good night for a fire because you can kick back; warmth isn't an issue.  Don't huddle around the fire; lay back and lose yourself to your thoughts."