Orange Tango
by Kelli

Comment:
Yes, the TopaZ adjustment does make it look like there is a sprinkle of sugar on the petals. I am considering getting that program. I can see past the Topaz post processing to see that you captured a nice, sharp image. I agree with the consensus, however, that the border is very distracting.

May flower side challenge #2
by Denise

Comment:
Perfect exposure and saturation. I like the leading line in the arrangement of the tulips.

May 02 - Bird Cherry
by hajeka

Comment:
Very nice amount of detail in this image. It looks like you sharpened this image just enough without going overboard. I like your control of depth of field so that the left side is out of focus and leads the eye from left to right to the perfectly focused foreground. Good background colors and bokeh as it seems that the bright area of the background nicely frames the focused part of the image.

Daisies and Darkness
by Paul

Comment:
I'm glad that you mentioned the use of a Lensbaby before I commented because I was scratching my head trying to figure out why the focus was unusual (not bad unusual). I really like how the Lensbaby draws the eye to the yellow part of the flower and nicely blurs out the background, especially the upper part of the photo. I think that I would have cloned out the bright points of light in the bottom half as they are a little distracting. Also, there is something odd about a small white area just above the focused yellow part that seems to be not quite right. It's almost like the focus was extended to one of the petals in that area only and it shows up a little brighter. Otherwise, a great image.

Fuchsias.jpg
by jomari

Comment:
Perfect exposure and nice composition with the eye following the line from lower left to upper right.

Cascade of Gold
by yakatme

Comment:
Now you have definitely piqued my curiosity :)

Originally posted by pixelpig: Drat! I spent 45 min writing comments on this, hit the wrong button on my mouse & lost it all. Grrh! I was brilliant, & am now exhausted from my labors. I'll try again tomorrow. This is awesome. You will enjoy a great success at the orchid show, I predict.

azelea purple.jpg
by avalanche1030

Comment:
Azalea flowers are a beautiful choice for a flower side challenge. I'm guessing that you used a large aperture around about the middle of the day because it is difficult to locate the focus point and the light is a little harsh.

Using a smaller aperture might have improved this shot by allowing more of the flowers to be in focus. If you're subject were a single flower (a flower singled out among others or just one lone flower) then a large aperture would help isolate the subject and minimize background and foreground distractions. However, when shooting a group of flowers (especially seperate flowers in a group) it is better to use a smaller aperture to increase your depth of field to get more of them in focus.

Contrast is a little low because of the harsh overhead light. Photography within 3 hours after sunrise and within 3 hours before sunset usually results in more appealing images.

Pink Perfection
by TCGuru

Comment:
That is a very cool flower! I like the composition in which you have the two flowers complimenting/imitating each other, as well as the way you composed the shot on the left third leaving some leading space in what appears to be in front of their face. In other words, you chose what I feel was the right side to leave open in the image. They do appear to be 'looking' to the right, don't they? Or am I losing it?

DSC_3783.jpg
by diver

Comment:
I recognized it as a lily by the single stalk and multiple flowers. Seeing the location where it was shot led me to find that it was in a swamp. Hmmmm, swamp lily? Sure enough.

Very pretty subject for this flower side challenge. One of the flowers is a little blown out in the highlights. That is hard to avoid when you have such a wide range of lighting as you had in front of you here. Not much could be done once the shot had been taken, but maybe you could recognize this situation in the future and either shade the flower or move it a little so that either all or none of it is in direct sunlight. I very often use my tripod to move water lilies that are just beyond my reach while I take the shot using one hand to hold the camera.

IMG_4260-web.jpg
by rodneyg

Comment:
Very nice. I like the combination of the well focused yellow bloom on the pink/fuschia and green background. As has already been mentioned, your images will almost always be appreciated more if they are larger. With no size requirements in a side challenge I go by the advanced editing challenge sizes which are 720 pixels on the long side and 200kb when saved for web.