For some reason, I find these coneflowers difficult to photograph. The spines in the cone ususally come out blurry and really makes me appreciate the shots that I see where they are crystal clear.
Hmm. there also appears to be a little bit of banding in the greenery in your background. As for the lack of sharpness, what settings are you using? Matrix (whole image) focus, center-weight, or pin-point? Also, might I suggest a slightly tighter aperture for a less-shallow DOF, and lastly, manual focus.
Please, even if you don't visit my gallery, check out my "Faves".I've left them intact since day "1", and would like it if every image there got the attention they deserved.