Radiating

[Anita Bower]

Thistle. Took photos before my husband mowed them down.
Nikon D300, Sigma 105mm macro, f5, 1/60, ISO 400, manual focus, manual exposure, tripod, outdoors, in shade. PP: PS7: Basic adjustments, add blur to bg, brush tool, clone, high pass sharpening of flower.

[Ken Childs]

I like this a lot, Anita. The "glow" surrounding the flower looks great. Is that just blurred leaves because of the shallow DOF? I might crop a small slice from the bottom but otherwise I'd leave it as is.

[Julie Kenward]

I like the glow around the flower as well. Is that a bit of backlighting or pp? I also think a small slice off the bottom would be nice - just a bit below where the stem leaves the frame.

Don't you love high pass filter sharpening? It's so much more delicate on flowers for some reason.

[Anita Bower]

Thanks, Ken and Jules. I think that glow is a bit of backlighting plus shllow dof. I'll see what the suggested crop looks like.

[Steve Adkins]

Anita, Great image. The symmetry and the uniform, gradual fade to the BG in very appealing.

[Roman Kurywczak]

Hey Anita,
Very effective use of shallow DOF. Count me as another one who loves the glow! You know my love of the crop tool:D....so while it does square off the comp somewhat.....below the stem on the right doesn't make it too drastic for me......but whatever you choose.....great use of the shallow DOF and excellent light! Now try to convince your husband to bring a few inside before he mows them down!

[sandy richards]

Anita, I love the blurring of the BG here, drawing focus on the inner flower head.
Nice colors and comp.

Sandy r

[Anita Bower]

Thank you Sandy, Roman and Steve. I did try the suggested crop and like it!