Bob, your F-stop must have been very small to defocus the rest of the flower as you did, but I guess that's the work of the Lensbaby. I love the colors and the flower, itself. My only suggestion is to perhaps put the center of the flower more toward the top third of the image. Nice job.   Posted: 12/08/2025 18:54:47

Hi Doug. I'm impressed that you have been able to handle a lensbaby so well - I've tried and failed miserably. Of course, Dahlia's are my favorite flower, so I love the texture and colors in the image. The only things I find distracting are the dark corners. If it were mine, I'd probably use a content aware fill to eliminate the blank dark at the corners, or add a white vignette to reduce their power. Overall, however, I love the image. Happy Holidays!   Posted: 12/15/2025 00:19:27

I like the colors and the sharpness of the center. I sort of find my eye distracted to the outside where it's out of focus because it seems brighter to me. It is a nice image though.   Posted: 12/16/2025 22:39:54

Hi Doug,
Greetings my friend.
I wish you have a wonderful holidays season ahead.

The Lensbaby Dahlia, that you have shared is a lovely presentation. The light, the colors and the framing is perfect; along with the peripherial blurrs to focused center area. Nothing more to add.

Thank you for sharing with us.
Cheers.
Kamal.   Posted: 12/17/2025 11:39:29

Hi Doug, still not sure the difference between a Lensbaby and a macro lens - I must check it out. Anyway, lovely shot and I like how close you've managed to get to the center and managed to blur all the outer petals. I would suggest a square crop would give emphasis to the center and still retain the inner softer petals.   Posted: 12/18/2025 10:04:08