flowers, plants, and vegetables Blue Poppy of the Himalayas

Craig, this is very well done. You should be proud of it. It should be on the cover of a calender or something. Beautiful!

Pure Magic with a beautifull colours;Congratulations.

beautiful. such heartbreaking colors. i was just at longwood gardens myself, but these flowers were already fading away...

Craig, Ive not yet ventured into macro shots and limited in my ability to critique this. BUT my ability to see something and really like it is not impaired in the least. The colors, lines, details and everything is just great. Thanks for sharing!

Beautiful.

I like the detail, but not wild about the lighting.

Good job.

I like the different lighting on this flower.

Nicely lit, well composed, and super detail. I like this a lot, and would be interested to know more about how it was illuminated.

Thanks for your comments. About the lighting, I used a 420 EX speedlight at -1.5 EV, along with the ambient light of the gardens to give a more natural look.

Excellent with the exception of DOF going soft in a few spots.

I think the lighting is very unusual, and thus more interesting. I only wish that the yellow part [looks like a caterpillar but isn't... sorry, not a botonist or whatever] was in focus.

Amazing photo.

I don't know if the colors are real, but it is because of those colors I realy like this photo. Very well done... Congratulation.

The blue poppy is this color. I did not make any adjustments.

Flower close-ups are a dime-a-dozen, but I still gave this one a 10 on originality. First reason - it grabbed me and made me rate it even though I just popped in to see the latest POW. Second reason - it held my attention and wouldn't let go. Final reason: the colors, textures and lighting all spectacular, but I think the element I like best is how you were almost 'casual' about the petals, using them like a painted background in a portrait, not trying to include everything, but just enough. Great shot, I'm now looking for other stuff of yours.

I really like this image, Craig. Beautiful.