a sense of wonder...

The visual appearance commented by Stephen is right, but I recognize that I like it, the image with these halos has an estrange ambience, like magic… As always, all is referred about our tastes and our different aesthetic photographic vision all of it speaking about out of rules of course! .Speaking about your folder, I always found good taste and exquisite way to capture these little things, which details that in somehow escapes from our hands but you catch very well.
Looking at your work where we can find authentic jewels. My congratulations

Nothing to add for the discussion, This picture is just a dream to me !

Digital banding is about technique, not about taste or vision.

I like this work. For me the subject and the colours are beautiful. Technically now for some parts I would use dither techniques. About dither you may see here www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dither

Great!

I'm going to agree that the background is pretty dominant but I'm going to go against the grain here and say it's a good thing in this particular case. While the focus point and linited DOF are very well chosen, we would have yet another rather ordinary close-up of another flower with pretty lighting.
That the background features are more hard-edged than is customary intrigues me. It does bring the background forward and it makes me think there's something more going on back there... almost but not quite seen. For me, there's more to draw from this photo beyond an initial viewing. Dunno if I would call it "wonder" or something more like "tension".

The hard edges of the background are a digital technical aberration, a glitch. Hard-edged light is something to be considered and worked with aesthetically and might have worked quite nicely here, if done well and intentionally. This is not it. This is digital banding.

I get it Fred, but I don't much care where the effect comes from. Maybe seeing a 16x20 print would change my mind but I still like it.

Last night I was at an opening reception for a local photographer's solo exhibit and she had an image that had some similar effects going on that were clearly a result of the digital manipulation. It hurt the image one bit. On the contrary, it took it from ordinary to quite interesting. It wasn't a heavy-handed-let's-see-what-this-photoshop-filter-does effect but a pretty well chosen effect that was done after capture rather than during.

Timothy, like you, I often respond quite well to well chosen digital effects. I get no hint that this is one of them. It comes across as a mistake to me. A matter of bad compression, bad sharpening, or too many filter moves overlapping each other.

Few words I would like to write more. For me this is an art creation and for art there is no critique (in my personal opinion). Art is freedom of expression. Now the techniques for art may be improved. Personally I do not know what is intensional and what is not for other artists. Since POW is about education I may add that if (I repeat IF) artist wants smooth background then this is rather not and it needs to work it again.

there is no aesthetic effect in this image other than the effect of the 2.8 F aperture,which gave us that thin plain of sharpness and focus,the original subject is a beautiful one ,it is a flower one.
Returning to the whole portfolio of A R,I think it contains more brilliant flower images than the chosen one for POW,and have some great images under the name of polar drone,it is my personal view that one images of AR deserve the title of the POW ,but not this very one.

I think it is a beautiful image. I especially like the effect af the shallow depth of field. It makes the flower in the background seem almost like a painting. I do, however, take some issue with the composition. I don't think that the angle at which we see the flower is terribly flattering. It makes it seem somewhat flat, somehow.

great shot, i find the background nearly as appealing; as the flower in focus, a very individualistic shot done with verve.
congratulations on POW

The nosie in the center-lower part of the image, demerits the overall quality of the work. The upper part of the image is gorgeous, looks almost like a painting, you can almost touch the flower there, and I realy like that.

After reading the critiques, I have come to realise that you have named it perfectly.

A great image, as usual for AR. Congrats, and best regards. Antonio Giusti.

My first response was: magic! Two ballet dansers doing pas de deux, the one fading in the background, allowing the other to shine, sharp and clear in the foreground. Their connection strengthened not only by their shapes but by the subtle points of touch joinin them. The "story" then ends in the dramatic disappearance into the dark cavity on the right. Brilliant evocation of love making! A&R, Congratulations with another evocative image taken from nature but transcending nature.

I find the flower in the foreground with its details along with the blurred one on the background work together superbly and by all means the image do have a very pleasant and creative appearance, wonderful floral work here and well deserve to be the POW, thanks to the photographer and to the Elves.
Rashed from Kandy Sri Lanka

Delicate and delightful. The limited color range and subtle tones adds to the delicacy. Nice seeing and handling of focus.

The flower takes on the personality of a human being. It appears to be looking at its reflection in a mirror, but has just turned away as it does not like what is sees. The blur is a metaphor for the flowers dissatisfaction with its image or reflection.

Beautiful vision of the Dance of Life. As in ballet, a pas de deux, or is it it pas de trois with that soft third stem in the background. Focus on the front dancer with its evocative stem emerging from/ or entering the dark depths of its origin. Very evocative image. Originating in nature, but transcending it... Another winner, A and R!

It's beautiful. If there is something to critique; my eyes go between the foreground flower and the background flowers, maybe if they would be even more out of focus, it could reduce that effect for me.

A beautiful painting full of nice colour tones and excellent textures.The simplicity makes it very great and eye-catching.The BG is very simple and nice,also.Imho,this is a good choice for POW.Best regards(Bobby).

Great use of light and makes subject stands right out of the blurred background. The transparent quality of light reflected through the leaves is really beautiful. Another master piece from yours. Best regards, Linh Dinh

A perfecft mixture of dream and reality. Painting and photo. Composition and usage of space? 10/10!
But the most appealing to me is the contrast between the in-focus flower and the background out-of-focus ones... 
A mindblast! Love it!