very interesting comments, thanks to all who have responded so far. I will address a couple of points as they are good ones to consider without a doubt.
I think the probs with mono shots on here (I get this problem a lot) is that all our monitors, whilst calibrated for colour, are often very different in terms of contrast. I can say for certain that there are no areas in this picture that are blown highlights, every bit still retains detail. having said that I have this as an A3+ print which of course looks entirely different to a few inches high compressed print on here so I have the advantage of seeing a much higher resolution and greater tonal range. Holding the highlights for monitor viewing is clearly an issue so is something I need to keep working on but it's hard when it looks so different on other monitors.
The amount of FG at the bottom: I have it with both and i might put the other one on here for you to compare with. I hate it with the FG cropped, it loses all its balance. But others might think differently so i'll put it up when I get home and let you see what you think.
ok, gotta get back to work. Thanks again for your comments
cheers,
Rob