Mystery species

Scott, I think that drop of water makes the shot. I don't know how large your image is; however if there's enough image real estate, a 1:1 crop with that drop positioned on the cusp of the lower third on the right (give or take) would be quite a picture.

Think about it.

Cheers,

Carol

I like the framing of the flower Scott and the droplet. I also like the color palette and your dof decision. I'm not sure about the viewer's upper right corner. It draws my eye some and seems to compete with the droplet and the center of the flower for my attention. Still a beautiful image as posted.

Pat

Carol, Pat, thanks for the comments. I shot this both ways - with the complete flower and the resulting blank urc, and a cropped version which is basically just like the bottom 1/2 of this image. Personally, I think I prefer the comp with the entire flower, but I was curious what others thought including whether the urc was a problem.

I have to disagree with the above comments. I like everything about the photograph, except the droplet, and find it distracting. My eye keeps being pulled down into the oblivious blur at the bottom of the photo, instead of focussing on the wonderful detail of the dahlia.

Scott: The drop is the icing on a very fine cake. The dahlia images have really been top notch lately and this one is in my top ten for sure. Really well done.>=))>

I think it all works very well together Scott. For me, I think the droplet makes it a different shot. Nice focal point and comp. For me, I don't know that the URC is that big of a deal. One think that seems a bit off to me (at least on my laptop screen) is the color. The color seems a bit too cool, or a bit hazy, or something - I can't quite put my finger on it.

Nathan

A very striking comp and with great color. Love the dof as well.

this is lovely, I like the drop, but not sure about the blue corner.

My thoughts mirror more or less what Nathan said. This is a composition I like very much with all the frontal petals significantly blurred so that they don't become a distraction. Even without the water drop it would be a great photo. I do see what Nathan mentions about WB and/or Haziness. Something you might want to check.

Amazing how much a small droplet of water can add to an image.

Great job Scott. I think the success of this image depends on what you want the viewer to see: the details of the dahlia and it's color, pattern, etc., OR the droplet. To allow the viewer the enticement of both dahlia details and droplet I think Carol is right on with suggesting a different crop of this image-- crop down to eliminate all the blue urc, and in just a little from the left. What do you think, if you look at it that way? To me, pretty cool...

Thanks for your thoughtful comment on my cram/blur zinnia experiment.

beautiful colors and comp....the droplet is a nice addition..I like this very much

Brigitte

Hi Scott A very interesting composition that captures the attention The color and water drop adds to the presentation
Albert Darmo. Canada

Scott:
Got to love that drop - makes such a difference to the shot. Well done.