Challende--Cyclamen Close-Up

[Anita Bower]

Taken indoors with natural light, foam reflector, triipod.
Nikon D300, Sigma 105mm macro, Canon 500D close up lens, f22 ("relative"), 1/3 sec. ISO 400 (not sure why), manual focus, manual exposure. PP in PS7: levels, curves, soft focus overlay, soft light blend, high pass sharpen center of flower, Topaz Denoise, slight rotation and crop.

[Thomas Herou]

Lovely lines and colors!
I like the white bg and the overall soft feeling.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Anita,
I've contemplated this one for a while.....for some strange reason I was thinking the stem was out of place but the more I looked at this the more I loved the overall presentation. I will ask....where did you crop.....not because I think this affects the overall image just more of an FYI. The detail in the center of the cyclamen is exquisite and the way the petals curve around and lead you through the scene...just outstanding!!! I have looked at this with a 90 Degree CCW rotation....and while I may prefer it......that's just personal preference!
Very nice job with this!!!

[Anita Bower]

Hey Anita,
I've contemplated this one for a while.....for some strange reason I was thinking the stem was out of place but the more I looked at this the more I loved the overall presentation. I will ask....where did you crop.....not because I think this affects the overall image just more of an FYI. The detail in the center of the cyclamen is exquisite and the way the petals curve around and lead you through the scene...just outstanding!!! I have looked at this with a 90 Degree CCW rotation....and while I may prefer it......that's just personal preference!
Very nice job with this!!!
Thank you, Roman, for your comments and questions. Here is the uncropped, and not fully processed image. I tried turning it 90 degrees as you suggested--not sure it works for me. But, I certainly see your point. One doesn't expect to see the stem coming in from the side and high up.

[Christopher Miller]

Beautiful image, Anita! I love the composition; the curving stem and petals create such a lovely flow. The colors, DOF, and high-key BG are all perfect. Well done! :)

[Steve Adkins]

Anita, Powerful image. Comp and colors are glorious. Would it hurt or help to slightly blur the sharp part of the stem?

[OvidiuCavasdan]

Beautiful color and petals flow, nice sharp flower center and good looking high key BG. Like it!

[Anita Bower]

Anita, Powerful image. Comp and colors are glorious. Would it hurt or help to slightly blur the sharp part of the stem?
Thank you. I, too, was bothered by the partially sharp and partially blurred stem. Here is the stem with some blur and some lightening of the darker part. What do you think?

[Steve Adkins]

Subtle change. Nicely done... I like it!

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hi Anita,
I like the repost very much! I have debated the crop....while I like the FF version I think you chose wisely with the small crop too!

[Mike Moats]

Hey Anita, really like the framing on this one, good details and color.

[Jerry van Dijk]

Hi Anita, another of you excellent flowers! Great original compostion. I love all the flowing lines. I prefer the original with the small sharp part of the stem. I feel it plays a balancing role in your composition, slightly echoing the flower center.

[Anita Bower]

Thank you, photo friends. I appreciate your comments. I found cropping the image challenging and spent a bit of time over it. I remain undecided about the stem. I appreciated this photo challenge as it focused my efforts.

[Julie Kenward]

I loved the original but the repost really got me, Anita! Beautiful feel to the image and the stem doesn't bother me - which it normally would at that position - but knowing cyclamen it feels right!

Great challenge image! You really put forth a lovely entry.

[Roman Kurywczak]

OK....since I'm the new macro mod I will go and say "the repost is the winner"
Becuase of the unique comp and wonderful soft curves!

[Steve Adkins]

Just wonderful!
"THIS IS THE WINNER!"

[Christopher Miller]

Well, it was a hard decision, but THIS IS THE WINNER!

[Anita Bower]

Thank you all for your votes and encouragement.