Guava tree flowers

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Smackdown in my backyard this morning between me, my camera and the guava tree. 

I like this shot for a couple reasons. First, it tells a mini-story with a basic before-and-after; here's what a flower looks like after opening and here's what it looks like about to open (like an alien baby sort of!).

Second, here's a tip for making flower shots better -- go hog-shit-wild on the vignette function and darken those corners and the outer frame, thereby emphasizing whatever is in the middle. I also tossed on a cooling preset from onOne and cropped the image like I was Freddy Krueger. 

Oh yes, there are the usual crimes against photography. I should have bumped up to f/22 or so for more depth of field. I shot it at f/8 for some reason (assuming there was a reason). So the branch is a little fuzzy. Oh well. Good thing my camera and the guava tree aren't going anywhere. 

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--S.H.

This photo ©Steve Hymon and may not be used elsewhere without advanced written permission. All rights reserved.