"Life is the flower for which love is the honey" Victor Hugo
by wildiris

Comment:
Well photographed with good colour rendition. I am not entirely convinced by the inclusion of the whole oof flower in the background - for me, despite the symmetry, it somehow unbalances the composition. Nonthe less, a strong entry.

Simply red
by zaflabout

Comment:
A simple and unpretentious photo of a flower clearly in situ in it's garden environment. The perspective works well, showing the flower to full advantage, and the background has been thrown pleasingly out of focus whilst still providing enough detail to give context. I rather wish the teracotta and grey horizontal stripes weren't present, and that the background foliage extended to these areas, but despite that, a strong entry.

Structural Support
by MaryO

Comment:
An interesting photo with an apt title. Whilst not making it into my personal top 10, I do admire your take on the challenge, and the flower (cow parsley?) is photographed well.

Echinacea purpurea
by blad

Comment:
The flower is a good subject for your study; I particularly like the way the muted colours are echoed in the oof background. I am not particularly keen on your choice of crop - the flower seems constrained and cramped by your framing.

Walking the Stamens
by BrianR

Comment:
What strange and intriguing stamens! Your choice of DoF works well. Surprisingly, the insect appears incidental to the image, and I suspect it would work just as well without it; indeed, the colour of the insect does rather clash with the vibrant green of the flower parts!

The First
by scarbrd

Comment:
The sgle flower amongst the buds is effective. I rather wish the stamen was also in focus, but acknowledge controlling dof to that level requires an enormous amount of skill.

Phalaenopsis
by shanksware

Comment:
The black background makes for a very clean image and shows the flowers off well, and focus and lighting are sound. I find myself wishing that the two uppermost petals weren't clipped by the top of the frame.

Poppy
by DistantColours

Comment:
I love the colours of this poppy - no idea if they are natural or manipulated in PP, but if they are real, I want one for my garden! You have allowed the papery texture and graininess to show through well, and your choice of dof allows the whole of the flower head to be in sharp focus, which works well for this study. I am somewhat unsure about the black back-ground - because there is no stem or foliage in frame it does give a rather stark, de-capitated look.

Afloat
by LadyK

Comment:
A simple and minimal approach that works well, although I might prefer the flower to be smaller within the frame, to accentuate it's fragility.

Coneflower
by digifotojo

Comment:
An interesting choice of presentation with the heavy vignette, and it has certainly made for a dramatic image. The simple border is effective.