Canon EOS 7D; Canon 180 mm macro lens; tripod, 12, 34, and 36 mm extension tubes; Nikon 6D diopter; manual focus and exposure (13 seconds at f/16); ISO 100.
I found this sunflower growing on the edge of a road. So, at this magnification (well beyond life size), I had a fair amount of cloning work to get rid of black specks (that were on the petals, not the sensor). Other than that, I just did the raw conversion, curves for contrast and color corrections, and a mild unsharp mask. If I could reshoot this image, I would double the space between the left edge of the frame and the lower left edge of the petal.
Hi Mitch. I would agree with your self-critique. You have a nice mix of yellows and the water drop is the focal point of the image and, for me, is what makes it work. I also like the slight diagonal comp. I'm seeing a number of tiny black specks scattered around the image that I think would be worth cloning to give the image a cleaner appearance.
Hi Mitch, your self critique and those suggestions made by others pretty much covers anything I would have said.....having that water drop closer to a ROT position definitely would have taken this one up a few notches.