Well...I have been examining my images in PS. I don't think that the curve is at all a problem. The histograms are pretty much perfect on these critters. What I do see, however, is that by just kicking up the contrast a bit that the images seem to pop out of the image significantly more - and I am only talking about increasing the contrast by +6 on the images.

It is food for thought. I am always a bit anxious about blowing out whites, and kicking up the contrast beefs up this problem a bit. However, on images such as these, increasing the contrast really seems to help.

I will post some of my experiments later today when I get a chance to relax. Thank you both for the comments. They really help.

Cheers
James