dahlias

[Ron Conlon]

This dahlia has been very productive this year with more blooms coming the more I snip. I never was able to get photos I liked with natural lighting, and now I probably have spent too much time with them with the lightbox. I wanted a more directional light so I put a diffuser on the flash so that there was direct light from the diffuser to the top right in addition to all the bounced light from the lightbox.
Lightbox, remote flash, tripod, D5100 200mm 1/200 f/9
15 images stacked in Zerene after curves and resetting to camera neutral in ACR. Quite a few white specks removed in PS

[John Robinson]

Nice stacking Ron- and not a Dahlia I know !( And I know a few !) Might be Zorro ??
I like the depth and "guts" in this shot but the first thing that hits me is the chopping in half of the two outside blooms. Difficult to compose I know with multiple blooms.
John

[Allen Sparks]

Hi Ron, I like the lighting and depth as John mentions and the tones set a great mood to this fine image. The composition works for me as is but I also am wondering about one where the the two main flowers in the middle are fully shown. A lot of different ways to compose a shot like this. Nicely done.

Allen

[Diane Miller]

Wow -- red velvet!! Although I love the light on the centers of the two flowers at the edges of the frames, I might consider darkening them with a soft-edged mask, and maybe lightening the two in the center. But that might turn the image on its head. It might be unconventional but that may be where its beauty lies! Those dark centers are wonderful.

Go snip some more of these!!

[Ron Conlon]

Thanks, all.
That is an interesting suggestion Diane. I gave it a quick try and it brings the eye back to the center. I will give it a serious go from scratch when I have the time to do it right. Thanks for the insight!

[Diane Miller]

It may bring the eye back to the center, but this one is still exceptional! It reverses the "rule" about having the brightest area where the center of attention should be, but it succeeds very well, because the center of attention is the dark velvet look, which to me is the most interesting thing because it is unusual.

[Ron Conlon]

Thanks Diane, it encourages me to keep trying compositions which are out of the ordinary.

[Steve Maxson]

I love the lighting, colors, and mood of this one! Nice job of the stacking, too, to get everything sharp!

[Jon Rista]

Stunning! The velvety red and the soft shading is exquisite!