Butterfly Pea, vine, September 99, West Central Florida Nikon F90x 200 Micro Velvia One of my favorite wildflowers.

-- Donna P. Bollenbach (cassidy@icubed.net), October 13, 1999

Answers

Nice shot, good color, sharp. The only thing I would do is crop it just above the cut of stem at the back of the flower, I find the leaves and bud? above it takes away from the flower, I can only crop on my monitor screen and that might make a differenc. Pat

-- pat j. krentz (krentz@cci-29palms.com), October 13, 1999.

A beautiful flower that the botanists have given a somewhat naughty name.

-- Larry Korhnak (lvk@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu), October 14, 1999.

This is a nice shot. Like Pat, I think cropping the leaves at the very top may be a good idea, since those leaves are also in focus and become a distraction. They probably would have been OK if they were out of focus.

The light seems to be pretty intense. Have you considered using a diffuser to make the light softer?

-- Shun Cheung (shun@worldnet.att.net), October 14, 1999.

As an amateur botany geek I like seeing the tendril at the top of the frame to help identify it. There appear to be two cut stems on either side of the flower, and it makes me wonder if they were cut by you or browsed by a critter. What is the naughty name of this (I'm in CA and don't know this one)?

--John

-- John Wall (jwall@earthjustice.org), October 14, 1999.

John, there are a several scientific names for varieties of this flower, including Centrosema viginianum, Centrosema arenicola and the one Larry is most likely referring to, Clitoria mariana. If I have to explain you 're too young to know! :-)

Anyway, I agree with you, John, I would not want to crop out any of the vine, personally I think it anchors the flower. As for the broken stem, I did pull some dead vegetation away from the flower which probably caused the vine to break. I probably should have nipped the broken vine below the flower. While I do not go to lengths to arrange the wildflowers I shoot, I do try to remove or push back any vegetation that may be distracting. In my own yard I may pull up grass and weeds, but at a state park or private property I generally just push them out of the way. Donna

-- Donna P. Bollenbach (cassidy@icubed.net), October 14, 1999.

A beautifully executed image. It is simple and I like the colors. It also can also look nice with a different crop. I will take the original as is.

-- Bahman Farzad (exposeit-right@spotmetering.com), October 15, 1999.