Thanks everyone for your time to comment and lend me your thoughts.

The houses visible in the trees actually appealed to me, although I could have easily removed them in post processing. What I was concerned about avoiding were the tops of the cars in the parking lot right behind the statue.
I wanted to catch the angle that best showed the casual stance and demeanor of the subject. I had hit it from many angles, but this one best brought out that stance that caused me to stop in the first place.

I appreciate the different points of view here and welcome your observations.