Rooster Pose ruined?

[cjm]

I took this picture with an old fashioned camera but as I took the picture I couldn't see this fence glowing back at me over the roosters head. But the pose is a very good rooster pose so I have been stuck with it. Today I decided to try my hand at taking out the fence by fixing the levels. However I had to make it darker to get it. But considering that the fence ruins the image does my fix-it job work for you or is there a better way to get rid of something like a fence?

[cjm]

So it looks ok? The remaining white is the breath from the bird.

[PhotosGuy]

Looks OK, but I'd like to see more of the hackle. I'd outline (select) the head & just adjust that.

[thomascanty]

After adjusting the levels, you might be able to get some detail back with the Shadows & Highlights command. It's worth a try, anyway. That's assuming you're using CS or CS2.

[cjm]

Yes I am using CS, somewhat a waste of money if you had PS 6. ;)

[cjm]

Here is the Shadow/Highlight Rooster

[einsteinsauntie]

I like the colours of the rooster in the first shot and think it's a shame if you lose that. I'm only very new to PS but have had some fun before with Paintshop Pro cutting out sections and making layers. Could you select the rooster, save that to a new layer, adjust the background to get rid of the fence then superimpose the original rooster on it?