I love the B&W effect on this shot even though I missed the focus just a tad on the middle flower. I am going to really enjoy this camera and lens for a very long time.

[goatsNdonkey]

You got the middle flower (going front to back) on the left side of the frame. One way of thinking of this image is as a step in the quest to discover what is the least that needs to be in focus in an image for it to be interesting. A few years ago, I never considered that quest. Now I think it is a fascinating quest to be on.

[JamesDCrockett]

You got the middle flower (going front to back) on the left side of the frame. One way of thinking of this image is as a step in the quest to discover what is the least that needs to be in focus in an image for it to be interesting. A few years ago, I never considered that quest. Now I think it is a fascinating quest to be on.

That is a great quest and I will try that thought process. I also could have gotten in closer and just focused on the left tube but thought all three made for a interesting composition. I may go back tomorrow and see what I can do.

[Rondec]

I choose my auto focus point and try to decide where I want it to be with regard to the image. Some use just center point and recompose, but my experience with that is that your focus can shift when you move the camera to recompose.

Thanks for sharing your shot.

[goatsNdonkey]

To go back to the overall "effect" of having this sort of flower image in black-and-white, I think the out-of-focus background is definitely of a kind that makes the image satisfying, without drawing too much attention away from the foreground flowers. Seeing the image in B&W, only, we can't know if something about the coloring of the background might have distracted, but sometimes that can happen, and converting a color scan to B&W can be a possible solution. There is also a nice range of tones, with in many places very smooth gradations between them. The whites and light grays are creamy. The dark grays are soft, but have a solidity, and range all the way to deep black. The brightest whites, for me, seem to get just bright enough, but are not piercing. This is a matter of taste, of course. I can be satisfied with just a few places with bright white, and love seeing a lot of shades of deep gray in a picture. Others may prefer paler views.

[JamesDCrockett]

To go back to the overall "effect" of having this sort of flower image in black-and-white, I think the out-of-focus background is definitely of a kind that makes the image satisfying, without drawing too much attention away from the foreground flowers. Seeing the image in B&W, only, we can't know if something about the coloring of the background might have distracted, but sometimes that can happen, and converting a color scan to B&W can be a possible solution. There is also a nice range of tones, with in many places very smooth gradations between them. The whites and light grays are creamy. The dark grays are soft, but have a solidity, and range all the way to deep black. The brightest whites, for me, seem to get just bright enough, but are not piercing. This is a matter of taste, of course. I can be satisfied with just a few places with bright white, and love seeing a lot of shades of deep gray in a picture. Others may prefer paler views.

Thanks for the positive input. I prefer my whites a little softer than piercing unless against a solid black background, Then the effect can be stunning. The creaminess of the background, almost like wind blowing. and the gentle shifts in contrast is what made me keep this as a black and white. I did a few of some pansies and they look like very angry pansies in black and white.