mariposa84 Loc: Rochester NY

Ok here we go again hopefully this one is better then the previous.

(Download)

Country's Mama Loc: Michigan

I think your focus is still off, but your composition is much better, though in my opinion could be improved by moving the flower to the right as it is leaning to the left. With the left lean and so close to the edge it leads your eye out of the image and not into it. But all that being said leaving room all the way around makes this quite an improved image.
The colors and exposure are beautiful.

photoninja1 Loc: Tampa Florida

Much better. I agree with C.M. the focus is still soft on the majority of the flower. Shooting at a higher f stop will give you a lot more depth of field, but it appears that your system may be focusing in front of the subject. It might be worth the time to shoot a test series to confirm the focusing accuracy.

mariposa84 Loc: Rochester NY

Thanks for looking and comenting

mariposa84 Loc: Rochester NY

I am certain in is user error as i was again on my tippy toes on a step stool to take this picture i probably moved slightly but i will mention it to my husband so he can check it. Thank you for looking and commenting.

Uuglypher Loc: South Dakota (East River)

Your DOF about as thick as a knife blade...and it slices through that blossom about mid-way between its near and far extremes. But that doesn't really bother me as much as the placement of the blossom. It is "gazing" upward and to the left...and out the left side of the frame. Could it be placed in the lower right region of the frame so it is gazing into the image, rather than out of it?

Dave in SD

Nightski

mariposa, flowers are tricky. You think they are going to be so easy but they are not. Here's why I think they are so hard.

If you stop down your lens, you have a slower shutter speed or a higher ISO. Depending on how your camera handles noise, a higher ISO can be a problem. At slower shutter speeds that flower needs to be still .. no wind .. none. You need to use a tripod, and I find it really helps to use a remote trigger because just touching that shutter button can cause motion blur on something so delicate.

If you open up that aperture, then you gain speed and light, but you lose DOF. Flowers can be shot very attractively with a shallow DOF, but you need to have the right area of the flower perfectly in focus for this to work.

Play with that wider aperture, but get further away from your subject. Try different distances until you find a place that is pleasing to you. The less cropping you have to do the better, but sometimes to get the light and a deeper DOF you have to move back from your subject.

I think that having the flower in the lower left frame is a mistake. It blocks the eye. We read from left to right. It would be better if we moved through the negative space to the flower. A little more stem leading the eye to the flower would make a more pleasing composition.