Pat, I love the detail of your "Thistle". The F/5 was a good choice for capturing a sharp thistle head but also creating blur in the surrounding thistles. You did an excellent job of blurring the background. What was behind the thistle to create the light, green blurred background? Very nice shot.   Posted: 07/18/2017 18:05:31

Hi Karen the background is a lawn on a green area across the road and has a slight rise from road level to about 3 feet.
regards pat   Posted: 07/24/2017 16:47:55

Great choice of background to make this thistle stand out. Many lower photogs choose their background first and then find an interesting flower subject. The flower has detail and color.
not sure what would improve it, perhaps try a square crop to chop off a little from the top and from the bottom??   Posted: 07/24/2017 17:47:59

Hi Pat: You have a selective focus rendition of the thistle where the front side of the flower is tack sharp, and then the sides of the flower start to run out of focus quickly. The soft green out of focus background supports your subject well. Looks like cloudy day lighting, my favorite for this kind of a subject; no harsh shadows in the picture or distractions in the background. Would try cropping from the top, about 1/3 of the way to the top of the flower.   Posted: 07/24/2017 21:43:51

Many plants classified as "weeds" do have a certain beauty about them. I think Thistles fall into both categories. Sharp focus on the front of the main flower. The gray/green of the plants and the purple of the thistle head are complemented by the blur of the background. Very nice.   Posted: 07/25/2017 07:27:17

Pat, We have to realize that the thistles you have in Ireland as those in Scotland are so much a part of the beautiful landscape; unlike the variety of thistle we have here in the states, at least in the south. The subject itself is very sharp and the blurred background is particularly nice. The only suggestion I might have would be to blur and soften the other parts of the image to emphasize the subject and keep them from distracting. A slight vignette might also move the eye more toward the central image. I so enjoyed these when traveling in your country.   Posted: 07/26/2017 10:40:33