This is now closed! Will be back in a bit with comments.
[doublepost=1523629952][/doublepost]Hey guys! Great entries this week. It's finally feeling like spring here, with a high near 80 today! Yippee!! But the week prior was glum a bit, plus my son has been home all week with the flu, so I've enjoyed seeing everyone's cheerful flowers.
@Alexander.Of.Oz Love the arch and delicate pink veining. I'm left wondering what the white part of the flower is...is this a bougainvillea of some sort? The contrast of the pink and green is quite lovely.
@macuser453787 Phlox! A great spring flower. Would love to see this warmed up a bit in terms of color temperature and cropped more to the rule of thirds.
@Bigtree I love flower photos with insects! Great capture, but I'm feeling like this image is more about the bee than the flower. Great black background, though.
@akash.nu This is a great spiral composition. I would love to see a bit more depth of field to really see the layering, and a bit more contrast in terms of shadowing to highlight that as well. But pinks are hard to photograph without really blowing out the channels, so good job retaining the detail you have.
@someoldguy This is a hibiscus, right? Great lighting, DOF and contrast.
@Robotti - yes, not really a flower image at all, but bonus points for participating with any image!
@Janichsan - A bit overexposed in the whites, but I love a rhododendron, and mine look sadder every year; eventually they are going to have to be replaced, but I still get a few blooms. The focus is a bit soft as well, but I know it's sometimes scary to be too close to the bees!
@The Bad Guy What a wonderful still life. I love how open the leaves are and the lovely texture they provide. The marbles offer a great bit of color contrast.
@E3BK Daffodil! If you've spent any time over on the POTD thread, you know I love a good daffodil photo. I like the centered but also rule of thirds composition. I also like the background of daffodils also to add some bokeh. Might have brightened the bottom some just so it doesn't look like it's growing out of the darkness. (I also really loved your foxglove image.)
@Susurs Pansies are always such happy photos. The contrast is a bit much for me on this particular image - the shadows are clipped and the whites of the pansy are overexposed....but I do love all the sprouting plants coming up, ready to bloom.
@MacRy A stunning black and white. I'm such a color person and rarely convert to B&W (plus I'm just not good at it), but this is an amazing way to show off the texture. I love the focus of the center of the daisy.
@Hughmac Glad spring finally made it to you as well! Raindrop photos are some of my favorite for flowers. I would love to see this warmed up just a smidge as well as a hint more saturation to bring out the pinks, but based on your comments as of late, I suspect the dreariness is more true to life.
@AllergyDoc This seems like some sort of desert plant that is unfamiliar to me. Poppies don't look like that to me. I'm so intrigued by the green lined things - are those seed pods? That yellow is such a great pop against the lines and textures.
@AlliFlowers Nice attempt at framing in the first one, but I think your angle just isn't quite there. The tilted horizon is throwing me a bit too.
@keyrex I can see you put a lot of effort in to lighting this, and I know you commented on it on the POTD thread. The flower is well exposed and has a great DOF. That blown leaf does detract some, unfortunately.
@inkmich An entire frame of flowers! Well done! Definitely spring feeling.
@anotherscotsman An entire *field* of daffodils! OMG. I would die. My only comment is that I would crop out some of the blue sky to move the horizon line up to the ROT. It's right in the middle right now.
@cogi0490 I love dahlias! I love the texture and raindrops, but unfortunately it isn't really in focus.
So, you guys can take or leave my comments...If you don't like them, ignore them! I really loved seeing everyone's take on this challenge, and truly found something to enjoy in every single image. Now for the dreaded final judging.
Honorable Mentions: inkmich for an entire frame's worth of blossoms and MacRy for an out of the box take on a flower image.
3. The Bad Guy for such a well lit studio type of image. The layering is just fantastic.
2. AllergyDoc I just love the lines and colors in this.
1. anotherscotsman takes first, if only because of the title of his image, which is one of my very favorite poems! Take it away!
