Bearded Iris

I have received some interesting feedback for the images I have posted so I thought I would post another one. Thanks for any comments/critique.

Great detail, texture, beautiful colors and light! I think a slightly different framing/getting a little bit closer or using a shallower DOF (if possible) might help getting a clear point of interest for the eye to focus on, but of course that depends on what you want to achieve in the first place.

Simplejoy, thanks for the input. Your suggestions mirror what I have heard about some of my other photos. They often lack a clear center of interest/subject, which could be altered by your recommendation of shooting tigher or using a shallower DOF to emphasize a subject.

I love the color and texture here…but more importantly, the creative and unique way you used the light.

I agree with the previous comments.
In this case, just increase the contrast and you will see that the image becomes more three-dimensional.

Davinator, Manuel, thanks for the comments. I will add a bit of contrast and probably also a bit more saturation.

I agree with the others that one’s eye struggles a bit for a specific area of interest. OTOH that’s probably what contributes to this being a somewhat abstract view of the flower. The use of light, contrast, form & color make it interesting to look at. Enjoyed.

Color and tonality and the sinuous curves of the iris make this a striking flower portrait. It's bit abstract for some tastes but I like it lots.

If it were mine, which it is not, I would crop in from the right and let the V form dominate right smack in the middle, moving the brightest area with the lost highlights off a bit to the right of the frame where it's still doing its magic but doesn't act as much like a magnet. But that may be more Georgia O'Keeffe-ish than you have an inclination for.

I am not entirely sure how I feel about the graininess of the flower on close inspection. I think it is backlighting shining through the textural structure of the flower. It bothers me a bit enlarged but not at all in the smaller version. I am not sure how it would be in print, which is always something I automatically think about. How this would render, and what paper you would need, is something I'd give thought to if printing.

A beauty!

Definitely inspired by O'Keeffe as are many of my photographs and paintings.

I will have to give some thought to the crop. BTW, the areas of bright highlights and the texture are substantially toned down with a print versus the transmitted light of a monitor. When printed the texture is actually quite appealing, at least to me. I rarely use metallic paper but a similar vertical composition did really well on metallic paper. The metallic brought out the silver colors.