Beautiful macro, Simon, and the excellent composition makes it a perfect desktop. I've never seen this type of lily before and its lovely color is amazing. Top marks, Faves, and thanks for sharing. :)

My garden is growing lovely thanks to you Simon! What a grand color this lily is....I love the way you captured some of the unopened buds also. The centering of these flowers makes it a great desktop! In my fav's on my HD & thank you. :))

WOAH! Exellent!!! Great job Si, you just boosted up the ever descending quality of this site!!

I like the vibrant colors, and the contrast it presents to the black background. Awesome job :)

Thank you all for your supportive comments :-) Like I said on your profile, Tony, the quality of images is something we need to address. I think we tend to praise the good images while not "wasting time" on the less good ones, but unless we tell people what we don't like about their pictures and how we think they could improve them, things won't get any better. I'm going to try to change my ways and be more critical (constructively!) - anyone else care to join me? ;-)

Great shot Simon. I agree too, that we need to really build up the great shots, and encourage and direct those who need it.
JuneBug

This is a stunning image! The colors and details are so crisp it almost looks like it can't be real! I also like the contrast of the black background against the vivid blue. Plus, I just love Agapanthus! It's amazing how their slender stalks can support the big tuft of flowers. Very well done!

Simon, advice from you is most welcome anytime, but it's going to be real hard for me to come up with an 1/8 of an inch of your photos I don't care for. I promise to sweetly let you know if it happens though. ;)-

Wow, Beautiful Blues. Nice work!

Once again, thank you all for being so kind and appreciative :-)

WOW!! beautiful....fav, 10/10

Excellent composition, Simon. My favorites are going to start looking like your gallery. On the subject of constructive criticism, I find it very hard to say anything negative about a person's work. In most cases I choose to say nothing at all. Maybe that's not right, but I don't feel I have the expertise to impose my judgment on someone else's work.

Nice! I can almost smell this one...

Thank you Lori, Alexis and Lindsay :-) Fair point, Alexis - I'm not saying it isn't right to say nothing on an image we don't like, just that if we can take the time to let people know when we can see ways they could improve their work it might help improve standards. It's difficult because so much is subjective, but there are instances where I think people could benefit from it.

this s quite amazing simon; got a very surreal feel with these flowers. great contrast and atmosphere. love it!

Awesome I love the colors in that

Very beautiful...great for the desktop and the color and composition is very charming and refreshing. : Pat.

The colour of the flowers is stunning! Nice composition and very well done :)

Thank you all once again for your appreciation and encouragement :-)

woooow ! veeeery beautiful ! stunning image :) in my favs

So pretty, the blue in this flower is just well, pretty! Favorites for sure!

Well, you asked for critique (unless I understood wrong), no? Personally, I think this would look better if you cropped out the buds on the right side of the photo and darkened/slightly desaturated the left -- both would draw more attention to the flowers in focus. And if nothing else, there's a little red spot inbetween the buds on the right that distracts my eye as well lol. But, I must admit, I had to be really critical. Overall I love the composition and detail. =)

nice shot dear :D

Took my breath away. Yes, we newbs need more constructive feedback and I for one do not want to be part of the crowd that contributes to the "ever descending quality" (quoted from TB hockey) of the site. I came here to share what I consider art, including my art, even though I am not in this range of expertise. Perhaps there should be a separate category for professionals and amateurs. But then again, the inferior pics don't make it long on the site...anyway...fantastic capture. It's in my favs and on my desktop. I appreciate your talent. Thanks for such a wonderful image :)

this one goes strait to my desktop! :)

*¨¨* -:¦:- •:*¨¨* Absolutely Beautiful *¨¨* -:¦:- •:*¨¨*