Dahlia Macro Blur

[Anita Bower]

Cropped some from original. I wanted to include all these petals, but didn't like the green, so I added a zoom blur to selected outer petals (thank you Jules!).
Nikon D300, Sigma 105mm macro, f 16, 1/100, ISO 500, outdoors, Longwood Gardens, tripod, natural light, auto wb, manual exposure, manual focus using live view (which I love!). RAW conversion in Elements 7, PP in PS7, Topaz Detail, denoised.

[Julie Kenward]

Anita, it's just drop dead stunning! That yellow center is gorgeous and you really exposed the flower perfectly, bringing out all the details without any shadows. This would be one really stunning poster!

[Anita Bower]

Anita, it's just drop dead stunning! That yellow center is gorgeous and you really exposed the flower perfectly, bringing out all the details without any shadows. This would be one really stunning poster!

Jules: Thanks! I can't say how much this means to me. :D

[Vida van der Walt]

Beautiful shot Anita. You made the right call on not including a lot of the green bg. The colours in this are stunning and the flower almost seems to glow. Very nice detail too.:)

[Nancy A Elwood]

Just stunning Anita! I love everything about it.

[Christopher Miller]

Beautiful photo, Anita! Love the colors. I kind of wish the flower center was in the very center of the image, but that's a minor point. Well done!

[Steve Maxson]

I would agree with the comments above, Anita. The colors, patterns, and sharpness of the flower's center just reach out and grab your attention. Well done.

[Ed Vatza]

The colors and the treatment of the petals looks almost surreal to me. And the way you have handled the green background contributes greatly to the image. Finally, the square crop is perfect for this image. BEAUTIFUL!

[Dave Mills]

Anita, By all counts you have a winner with this! Very nicely handled. I like the fact that it is a bit off center!!

[Ramesh Adkoli]

Fantastic image, Anita. The bright colors and soft petals contrast very well. Congrats! TFS.

regards,
ramesh

[Ed Cordes]

Wonderful! I can see this hanging large in an office building! The zoom blur worked well.

[Charles Wesley]

Anita,

This is very lovely with great pastel colors.
Thanks for sharing....
____________________
Charlie Wesley
St. Augustine Beach, FL

[Craig Thompson]

Anita,

This is a really wonderful image!! Beautiful colors and composition! I really like what you did with the zoom effect at the edges of the frame!! It is a wonderful contrast to the excellent sharpness and DOF at the center of the composition!!

Very nicely done!!!

[Anita Bower]

Thank you, everyone, for your supportive comments!!!