Tick Tock, It's Four O'Clock

[Ed Vatza]

and Wild Four O-Clock at that! Image from this past weekend. The flower only opens for a couple of hours in the late afternoon/evening hence its name. I particularly liked the appearance of the stamens and pistil here so I decided to photograph straight head on. The gray background is a cinder/gravel pathway.

This is another image that could have worked in portrait rather than landscape but I couldn't get as clear a background vertically and other flowers started to make their way into the frame. So I stuck with landscape.

Rebel XT, Sigma 150 Macro, 430 EX Flash with LumiQuest Softbox all tripod mounted.

1/15 sec at f/16: ISO 800; -1/3 EV; FEC -1

[John Cooper]

Another beauty Ed and well presented!!

[Alfred Forns]

Hi Ed !!! Luscious dof on this one Really like all the fine detail !!! bg sets up the flower well !!!

[Julie Kenward]

I rather like the gray BG against the deep purple color of the flower!

[Fabs Forns]

Fine works as presented, Ed, beautiful flower.
Now I'm curios to see how it would look with other flowers in the BG for a more informal look!

[Robert Amoruso]

I like all the DOF here Ed. Color saturation is eye popping. Great name too.

[Mike Gallo]

Love how you have so much in sharp focus, well done

[Gus Cobos]

Hi Ed,
The title is very clever, it does tell the story...:p I like your composition the way it is...congrats...:cool:

[Bob Allen]

Sweet! DOF is almost impossibly perfect.

We have a related species here, but it's long past bloom.

[Stephen Stephen]

Well captured Ed. I've not seen this flower before (that I can recall.

[Mike Moats]

Hey Ed, interesting flower and well done on the sharpness, color, and BG.

[Ed Vatza]

Geez, I have to admit to being a little bit overwhelmed by the response to this image. (And no one even mentioned the little dust spot I missed to the left of the flower. :eek::p) Thanks you all for your feedback. As always, much appreciated. I have to continue working on getting better but, in the meantime, it is nice to feel that my images are improving.

I do have to tell you maybe it is just one of my eccentricities but after looking at 10 consecutive positive comments, I started to think maybe they're just tired of critiquing my images and pointing out all the little things (and sometimes big things) that I did wrong and that can be improved.:D

I'm sure I drop in another clunker every once in a while just to keep humbling myself. Again thank you all. This website and you people are the best thing that has happened to me and my photography.

[Mike Moats]

Hey Ed, you have used basicly used the same formula of compoosition on most of your flowers, and you have mastered the sharp details, color and blurred BG so not much to crituque.(I thought that dust spec was on my LCD:D) You will have to start experimenting with different comps and DOF and then the critques will start to flow, but your great with what your doing so far.