Running juggler - critique composition

[IABoomer]

This was taken during the final stretch of the Drake Relays 1/2 marathon. I'd taken some pics at a few spots along the route, and kept seeing this guy running and juggling. My main concern was getting him crisp and frozen, hence the higher ISO and short shutter speed.

I think the officer in the background tells a bit more of a story and adds some dimension to this image, but maybe others think he's a distraction. Maybe I should crop this in a landscape orientation to get the runner and the officer, but leave out the church sign? Maybe this works fine and you don't think it needs to change at all.

Please, be honest and tell me what you think of this image, primarily from a composition standpoint, but if there's something else about color, tone, focus, etc. I'm happy to hear that as well.


The Juggler by IABoomerFlickr, on Flickr

Camera Nikon D5000
Exposure 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture f/9.0
Focal Length 82 mm on 70-210 f/4-5.6 Nikon push-pull manual-focus
ISO Speed 1250
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash No Flash

[SeanC]

i didn't like it at first, then i read what was said above it and i feel like it would be wonderful if it wasn't for that church sign.

[JFSanders]

Yep, better without the sign. But the cop provides a nice counter balance and his expression is wonderful. Nice shot.

Jim

[wings of a bluebird]

I agree with the previous 2 posters on the crop. Without the sign would be less distracting.

[IABoomer]

Originally Posted by SeanC

i didn't like it at first, then i read what was said above it and i feel like it would be wonderful if it wasn't for that church sign.

Originally Posted by JFSanders

Yep, better without the sign. But the cop provides a nice counter balance and his expression is wonderful. Nice shot.

Jim

Originally Posted by wings of a bluebird

I agree with the previous 2 posters on the crop. Without the sign would be less distracting.

Thank you all for the commentary. Three straight votes for a new crop. If nothing else, that at least suggests I look at doing something else.

The problem I run into is, because of how this was shot/framed, I don't have a lower landscape image of the same shot, so I either crop to 4x6 and chop through his upper thigh, or go with a square crop that wouldn't be as practical to print.

Does this work better?


Running Juggler - Take 2 by IABoomerFlickr, on Flickr

[dvtldav]

If you have CS5 could you remove the sign with Content Aware Fill? That would give you more to work with so you don't have to use a square crop.

Dave

[goldt3]

Much better without the sign. I don't like the first one, but the second crop is really a great image!

[Michael_nine22.com]

The second crop is better as it removes the sign however you have exposed a very big hotspot that is around the corner of the building. Your eyes are usually attracted to the brightest thing in a picture and I noticed this when comparing your two crops. Your highlights seems a bit hot too, try some recovery in LR or Photoshop and bring back some details