Hi Jodi, you had very difficult conditions to try to capture what you could see in your mind's eye. I find it hard to come away with what I want and expect from myself in these situations. I usually walk away.

The shadows of the stamens don't bother me, but I usually never shoot in full sun due to contrast. When you shoot in full sunlight the whites or light colors tend to be blown out or there will be no detail in the shadows.

I like the composition with the diagonal lines of the flower going from the lower left to the upper right. There's nice detail in several of the stamens and at the base of the near petal. It is very difficult to hand hold and have much DOF at this distance.

I checked the histogram and found some of the whites in the petals are blown out. Because of this there's not a lot of detail in the petals. You have a histogram in your camera. This is one of the best tools you have to use. I sit up and when I shoot my first shot, I then look at the histogram. It will show if anything is blown out. I will make any adjustments to my exposure until get the perfect histogram. For my eye I like the color in the original better. The yellows are beautiful.

You ask about focus. For me I always manual focus. I want total control of focus. Also, you need to know when doing close-ups, the DOF is 50% in front of the focus point and 50% behind the point of focus. This can be important so not to waste any of the DOF.

I think you did a great job isolating the flower from the background. You did well with the conditions you had to deal with to capture this image.   Posted: 03/08/2023 19:15:09

Hi Dick, I agree with all of your comments, except the walking away part. I cannot do that! I will stay there until I can get a shot. I am still far from you and our group members in skill level. I am hoping the more mistakes I make, the more I'll learn. Also, I shot this flower inside the garden's conservatory, not in direct sunlight.
I love color, but I have been trying to learn more about monochrome. Thanks for your thoughtful and helpful critique.   Posted: 03/09/2023 06:40:36

Hi Jodi, I think you did really well and have good detail where you wanted it. Your crop works and makes it more interesting than the original. I'm a great fan of monochrome exactly because it simplifies the image and makes the viewer concentrate on the tones instead of vibrant color. The shadows don't bother me, but I do prefer to shoot with an overcast sky. Good image.   Posted: 03/09/2023 16:18:22

I like the crop and how you rotated and positioned the lily off center. I also like it converted to monochrome because then we are seeing the shape of the flower. I like the shadows on the petal. Again, it is interesting in monochrome. Good job!   Posted: 03/09/2023 22:36:09

Jodi, I like the crop and the composition of your image. By converting your image into monochrome, it helps us see the details better. Nice job!   Posted: 03/14/2023 21:49:38

Hi Jodi, I like your flower, the detail of the stamen and the pollen are fantastic due the conditions of the shooting.
Yellow flowers turn very well to black and white. You have done a very good job isolating the flower from the background. Well done   Posted: 03/15/2023 07:44:56

I have nothing to add to the previous comments. Except, truly beautiful capture.   Posted: 03/25/2023 21:31:48