Rhododendron

Hey, Charlie! Good to see you posting again.

This is lovely! I like the lighting you have in this and the dark background; it shows off the beautiful colors in the flowers and leaves very well. Nice focus on the center stamens and the spotted yellow area. I think the DOF choice works well for this, with the back flowers being softer. I'd say the noise is minimal, visible only on the larger version. Sharpening looks good too IMO. Great image, Charlie.

Hi Carolyn, Good to see all you nice people too. Thanks for looking and nice comment. We are about to get into the dull, inside, gray months and thought a little spring would be good.

Very artistic presentation, Charlie. I like the comp, light, supporting flowers, and dark bg. If I had a preference, it would be for the oof stamens on the front flower to be in focus, but not a deal breaker. Beautiful overall.

Charlie - What a beautiful photo of the Rhododendron Flower !. The choice of light makes it glow with a kind of metallic sheen to it. I have to agree with you that the sharpening is a bit on the higher side but on the other hand it does show the great textures on the petals as well.

Hi Charlie To me, this composition, and DOF choice is something special It has that painterly look, which i love The beautiful light and color is marvelous
Albert Darmo

Thank you all. Scott the goal here was to have the front bloom detail sharp and some softness with the surrounding ones and yes I too wished I had been a little better in getting the front one perfect.

Charlie:
A very beautiful Rhodo for sure. I like the lighting here. No too bother by the noise or sharpening. Well done.

BTW you flower images seems to have move to the next level after your long absence....

Interesting DOF. Sharp in the main flower and softer in the further flowers. I like the slight softness of the pinkest petals. I think pink is at it's best when it's soft. The dark leaves are just enough to anchor the flowers to the image frame.

Awesome! The light ...giving this a faint glow, depth, and emphasis on the delicate parts is art at its best in photography!

Charlie, I think that your evaluation is correct. A noise filtration could repair both: noise and sharpening, may be. I think that the nice leaves can be lightened a bit more. This will also create a color contrast that gives more strength to the image.
Take care.

A powerful image, Charlie ! The feel of the petals comes through incredibly well, especially in the larger version, and the lighting is as good as it gets. There's a mood to this which I can't quite articulate but which is palpable. Maybe the odd touch of over sharpening, but this is top drawer as far as I'm concerned.

For me this is a great photo Charlie. Thanks for the heads up!

Beautiful floral comp Charlie, nice shades of color. That black bgnd works quite nicely. Lighting superb!

The lighting is phenomenal in this, Charlie! This would be a new favorite of mine of your work. Very, very artistic.