Weekly theme: Spring Flowers

[Michael Yessik]

Mostly as is with some Topaz simplify Buzsim added. It says spring to me!

[denise ippolito]

Michael, I really like the feel of spring here. I'm not crazy about the mixed lighting but I think you handled it very well. Nice to see such a refreshing view!! NJ is so gloomy right now.

[Steve Adkins]

Neat spring image, Michael. It is bold with so much to see and enjoy. It seems the bee and flowers have been treated differently and the combination is very appealing!

[Gus Hallgren]

A lovely spring photo, your beautiful flowers and the Bee surely depict, Spring is just around the corner.
Gus

[Indranil Sircar]

Beautiful composition, Michael. This is like a beautiful floral arrangement! I love the bee and colors are very nice. What lens and settings did you use for this image?

[Michael Yessik]

This was shot with Nikon D300, the 300mm f/4 lens, set at f/11 and 1/400s, handheld. This lens does not have VR, but does focus to 1 ft., so I could get quite close, and got lucky on keeping the bee in focus. As was observed, I did mostly mask out the bee from the Simplify adjust, since I thought the bee looked better as natural. Here is the original as shot.

[Michael Yessik]

I meant to add it was taken on Feb. 28, 2010, in Northern CA.

[Indranil Sircar]

Thanks for sharing the original. Looks excellent!

[Andrew McLachlan]

Nice comp. Love the colors and the bee.

[Judy Howle]

Lovely composition and colors. I like the pink and orange tones.