Quince

[Ron Conlon]

I love the colors of quince blossoms, which have a depth and richness not seen in many of the hybridized and polyploidized species of plants cultivated for their blooms.

Nikon D5100, 200mm, f/13, 0.5s, tripod, taken down about a stop in ACR and cropped to 3/4, sharpened for web in PS at final size.
Pretty busy surrounding these blossoms, thus the tight crop. I tried a sprig or two in my indoor setup with a black background, but thought I would share a shot taken in situ.

[Diane Miller]

I like that the pollen parts (someone tell me what they're called -- I need a sex-education course for flowers!) are all sharp -- not easy to get them all in the focal plane. A lovely warm red color and thr tight crop works for me. I might think about removing the partial blossom from the top, just enough to get rid of the pollen things.

[Steve Maxson]

the pollen parts (someone tell me what they're called

Those are called "stamens," Diane. :S3:

[Steve Maxson]

Hi Ron. Nice colors and good overall sharpness on the flowers. If you wanted the flowers to look a little more pristine, you could carefully clone over some of the small worn spots on the petals. You might also experiment with increasing the contrast to see if you can give the image a little more snap. With these sorts of "busy" scenes it's hard to know just where to draw the line when cropping as things are always sticking into or out of the frame. When you are compelled to remove something - such as the petal exiting the frame on the left about 1/3 up from the bottom - it typically works best if you boldly "cut" it rather than just "clipping" the tip. (Make it look like you intended to do it rather than like an accident.) :S3: In this case, I might suggest cropping a little more from the left and a little off the top. Also, I would suggest cloning the two dark objects sticking into the frame in the LLC. A few little tweaks and this very nice image will be even better!

[Diane Miller]

Those are called "stamens," Diane. :S3:

Thanks, Steve. I need to write that down somewhere -- where I can find it next time I need it.