Yarrow

[Ron Conlon]

I like the subtle gradations of color in the yarrow flowers which one sees only if one looks closely. They don't fare well as cut flowers, wilting almost immediately, but are robust in the garden with long-lasting blooms.

Lightbox with background and remote flash, tripod, D5100 200mm f/5.6 1/200s ISO 100

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Ron, I also like the subtle colors here and the selective focus helps to draw you in to the beauty of the flowers. I have to wonder what a greater DOF would look like in this image but this works for me as is. Nice.

Allen

[Jonathan Ashton]

Ron this one doesn't float my boat - sorry. I think the DOF need to be either less or more, as it is it is neither here nor there for me. My eyes are constantly roving with no where to settle.

[Ron Conlon]

Thanks Allen and Jon, greater dof didn't improve it in my eyes. Unfortunately I didn't keep the shots with less. Will continue to experiment...

[Arthur Morris]

Love the soft colors, the flower, and of course the BKGR. A bit more room all around would work for me.

[Diane Miller]

I love selective focus and soft images, and this one really appeals to me. I think with this one my eye is drawn to the light OOF area at the top, which comes very close to the edge of the frame.

If it were a little darker and less saturated that might keep the eye on the gorgeous in-focus area. I've taken the liberty of playing with it. Hope you don't mind. I also trimmed the flowers down subtly at the top. Adding just a little canvas there might be nice.

[Ron Conlon]

Dianne and Artie, thanks. The small changes you made, Dianne, make a big difference in the impact. I hadn't thought of that approach--cool!

[Diane Miller]

Glad you like it!! On looking at it again, I'd take down the very top part even more -- about the top half of what I worked on. It wants to fade away from the viewer's attention up there.

[Ron Conlon]

Right, and that is what I did immediately on my own copy once you had clued me into what was needed. I knew more canvas wasn't the whole solution, but couldn't suss out the rest. Love this community!