First Iris of the year

While I'm not usually a fan of selective coloring, I think it helped in this instance by minimizing the background. As always, all comments are appreciated

Enjoy

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Very nice.

My favorite bloom. This image looks just a tad *plastic*. I do realize just how difficult it can be to get this bloom just right though.

Thanks Stan. . .

Not sure what you mean by plastic Bow tie. . .would you please explain

By plastic I mean, by looking at the shadow in the new bloom at the bottom I can see the Sun was about 70 to 90 degrees to the right side of the image. To see the shadows on the inside of the upper bloom there had to be another light source directly inline with the lens. I assume it was a flash. THe combo of the two lights just seem off to me. THe richness of all natural light seem to be missing in the petals of the bloom. THe stem looks fabulous though. Also there is a slight color cast in the background that does not please my eye. All that being said, you have captured great detail and remember as long as it looks correct to you it is a fine image.

Thank you for your explanation of plastic. A couple of points if I may. First, the sun was not where you believe it was, it was almost overhead. The slight shadow inside the open bloom is from a flash that was dialed back on power. The flash was used to minimize the interior shadow. I did desaturate the background because it was very busy and I wanted the attention to be on the Iris.

I appreciate you taking the time to explain your comments.

Steve