Courtship

Andrew, I like your idea of creating a story. I think you did a great job with the focus on that one petal. I love the focus on the left flower. I think that's perfect. I think the gradation and the amount of focus on the flower on the right doesn't work quite as well. I like to see it softer and even more OOF so that you end up with a dreamy abstract.
The light is even and lovely.
Do you bracket your shots when you shoot; in this case, perhaps shooting at different distances from your subject. I never used extension tubes and I'm also wondering if perhaps shooting with a different ext. tube might give you some more softness. Maybe someone else can help with this.

Carol

Andrew: Superbly crafted image IMO. Since you are at f1.8 you can't get any softer on the BG flower. This works really well for me as is. The BG is soft enough for me to be a great counterpoint to the POF. Top notch! >=))>

Thanks Carol and Bill,

I probably could have added another ring but then the scale of the flowers changes a fair bit, I certainly see where you are coming from. Thanks again.

I like this, Andrew. Except the courtship looks to be going a little slowly, with the left flower being all too demure. The color is great, your use of the DOF is excellent. The tiny highlight on the tip of the in-focus petal reminds me of a starburst. It's a great little accent.

Nicely done Andrew. My first tought was that it is image of flowers covered by water with only small part above water. I like the colors.

Interesting abstract Andrew. I'm having a little trouble connecting with the comp and will come back and look at this some more.

Pat

I've found these Periwinkles to be tough subjects other than composed as flat portraits. I think you've done pretty well here. The soft greens surrounding the individual petals is very nice. However I'm undecided about the focus point. A nice abstract regardless.

Andrew, Welcome to the 50mm + ET Club . Quite Pretty. Putting two blooms in a frame can be tough) specially with this Combo but your POF makes it interesting. Can't put my finger on it exactly but I like this photo.

Thanks for the comments everyone, good to see a range of opinions on this one :)

The larger version gives a good sense of depth. Good color combo with the greens, also.

Andrew:
Bet you had fun with the 50mm+ET combo. I have been pleasantly surprised by what one can do with this set up. I like the sharply focused petal and OOF bloom in the bg as a counterpoint.

Very well captured and presented Andrew. No nits here. Excellent DOF/POF management.

I like the story and the feel to this one. Great color and an effective choice of pof. Well done.