Beautiful shot John, love the colours and the dew.
I don't mean to teach you how to suck eggs but in instances like this I would get the shot and then time/circumstances permitting I would get my scissors out and remove the bigger pale dead leaves. You will no doubt know that when the dragons are cold it is sometimes possible to tidy up the scene a little without disturbing them. I am not sure but it looks like the green leaf by the head has been snapped off, depending on how you feel I may be tempted to tidy that up to make it less conspicuous.
I am very envious, I just googled Ithaca, it would appear to be an area rich in wildlife.