A suggestion that I would make is something I recently learned in Photoshop. Open the image file, go to the layers and create a copy of the main (background) layer. Then highlight the new copy and change the layer attribute from Normal to Screen. It should help bring out the color and lighten up the foreground of your image. The background will wash out a bit, but that isnt the focus of your picture. You can apply a mask to the background if you don't wish to wash it out, though that leaves a bit of an odd coloring, overall, to the image.

I believe I can see what you were trying to achieve and I find the image interesting but perhaps if you croped it to the one partially sunlit iris and the surrounding heads of grass you would have a better effect.