Hibiscus

[Dave Mills]

Shot this at Longwood Gardens this past year. The variety of colors this species offers is amazing.
Nikon D300,200mm macro,F32,1/100,0 comp,iso 400,twinlights,tripod mtd.

[Ken Childs]

You're right about this variety, Dave. That's a great mix of colors!

I'd take a look at lightening up those shadows. I'm betting you could just about remove the ones from the ULC and under the stamen and at least lighten the one near the LRC. Ever so slightly bringing up the entire flower might might look good, too. The comp looks great as is although I think you have a lot of options to different crops with this one. That's a nice luxury to have! :)

[Julie Kenward]

Very strong crop and comp Dave. The colors are outstanding and really grab our attention.

I'd also think about lightening up the shadows and I'd personally evict the one raindrop since it's kind of "sloppy" and doesn't really add to the overall image. It's a personal choice but I'd take it out.

[Bob Miller]

Hi Dave,,,Like the composition and colors alot..i agree with lightening the shadows and evicting the raindrop

[Dave Mills]

Thanks folks, appreciate the comments....

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Dave,
Agree with the raindrop eviction.......nice job with the light and comp though.

[Anita Bower]

Hibiscus are so much fun to photograph. Nice job here. I'd especially like to see it lightened up, as suggested above. I'm wondering about the colors between the red center and the orange edges--they look a little muddy to me, maybe a bit on the green side? I'd crop some off the bottom. I especially like the curls of the petals and the variety of colors.

[Jay Sheinfield]

Dave,

Jsut wandering around and saw this.................echo the above and great flash work! You can just reach and touch it............great textures in addition to the colors.