theme: flowers in the round

[Nancy Bell]

Originally some low growing phlox. I really like how the purple colors are so much a part of this macro mini-world.

[Dennis Bishop]

Oh, WOW. This is a show-stopper. The colors are wonderful, and even though it's circular it's largely asymmetrical. I like, too, that the petals are so sharply defined near the center but undergo that transition at the circumference. Looking at this, I wonder how well the final appearance can be anticipated. It makes me want to set up an action and see what happens to different types of photos.

[Hazel Grant]

Dennis said it all. Wow. Yes, Dennis give it a try. It's fun!

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Nancy,

Greetings. Cool! I particularly like the lines that radiate from the flower center then pull back toward the center of the world. And how it sparkles. Thanks for posting.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Cheryl Slechta]

Nancy, this is gorgeous!!! I love the curves and the asymmetrical look. My favorite part is the curving green leaf in the center

[Diane Miller]

Amazing how you see into the sphere in this one! Love it!!

[Nancy Bell]

Thank you so much everyone! It's a total surprise to me how these may turn out! I tried lots but this was the best.

[Anita Bower]

A new way to look at flowers! The curving and circular lines of the mini-world seem perfect for the petals of the Phlox. I love the colors. As someone mentioned, the way the center flower flows into the outer flower is excellent. I find the darker yellow/orange/purple area in the upper left a bit distracting, taking away from the graceful delicacy of the rest of the image.

[Adhika Lie]

Nancy, this is pretty. I particularly love the center and how the flower sorta envelopes it from the upper left corner. Not to mention beautiful color, too! :)

[Judy Howle]

I love this!!! How did you do it? I have lots of flower images but I need instructions!

[Nancy Bell]

I first learned of this technique from Diane, who gives credit to Carol Leigh (http://visualeigh.blogspot.com/). Flatten image, change to 8 bit. Crop or distort to square: Image size, uncheck Constrain Proportions to distort. Then Filter>Distort>Polar Coordinates, Polar to Rectangle. Rotate 180. Filter>Distort>Polar Coordinates, rectangular to Polar.

[Mitch Carucci]

This mini world really works for me. Love the swirls.