Cropping

[Analog6]

I am going to enter this photo in a comp, and I'd like advice on cropping. I'm attaching a jpeg which has only been high pass sharpened, it is not a finished edit, but I'd like people's advice on how they would crop it. Or should I leave it full frame and just remove the plastic bag?

Also attached is a crop I've used before, but I'm just not sure if it can be cropped differently to improve it.

Thanks in advance

full image:


former crop:

[old dog]

I like it uncropped Odille as it gives a better overview of where (terrain etc) the pic was taken. Difficult decision this cropping.

[clm738]

I tried cropping a little off the top and bottom but that still leaves birds central. I like your original version as any crop I tried doesn't add anything to the photo.

[fillum]

Odille I'd crop it similar to yours with some minor variations.

off top: I'd crop slightly below the top of the grass so that you basically only see grass in the background. I think this simplifies the image and keeps focus on the birds.
off sides: Normally I'd be inclined to allow slightly more width (although this may just be personal preference). However the problem with more width here is that the "hole" in the grass top-left becomes more obvious. Need to balance this. (I assume cloning in more grass is not permitted.)
off bottom: None. No cropping helps keep the log and dark shoreline a bit more away from the centre and I think strengthens the composition.

Note that these crops are likely to result in a non-standard format - don't know if this is important...

Anyhoo just my thoughts. Good luck with the comp...

[Analog6]

Thanks folk. Fillum, I was thinking below the top of the grass too. But I was bringing the bottom up too, I'll have go with what you've suggested and see how it goes. Pity that bird in the background wasn't flying the other way, it would lend itself to a tight crop on the right more if he was, I think.