Thinking in 21mm: I saw the feather, worked out where the subject was, figured where to kneel or lie to get the composition to work ..knew that the sand texture would have to be the integral connector of the bits of the compostion, given the vast expanse of wideangleyness...!
No, not contrived: had I picked up the feather I'd have disturbed the sand.
IS ISO 200 here really that much "better"? (I chose it to max the detail of the feather.)