Another image from my early Sunday morning walk along my local creek. I just really liked the bend in the stem and how I was able to use it to bring the flower into the frame.
Canon 30D; Sigma 150mm macro lens; Canon 430 EX Flash w/ LumiQuest Softbox mounted on flexible flash; all tripod-mounted.
Ed, I like the flower and I like the BG and I also love the bend in the stem. What I am not loving so much is how dark the greenery part of the plant is - those other buds seem way too dark. Did you try any selective shadow/highlights on this one to bring a bit of the detail back in that area or did you want the yellow to be the sole focus?
The spent flower thingies (I don't know what they are called) were very dark in color and I personally wanted to leave them that way against the black background for two reasons. First, as you noted, it puts an even stronger focus on the yellow ("Yellow on Black"). And second I really like the effect of the dark thingies on the black background. Just a matter of taste I guess.
Hey Ed, I think the dark thingies look fine, I tend to like dark moody lighting, although its not as popular with most. Nice details, and for me I would like a little tighter crop and less negative space, but thats me.