Nice shot Ray but in a nice way may I be permitted to suggest next time allow one half to two third a stop more light, this will show more green in the background instead of the shadow on the right. I believe this will give a more balanced shot, just a personal opinion still a nice shot.
Thank you, Craig, for your comments. I can see what you are trying to achieve but the way I processed it was quite deliberate. I used a radial filter to brighten the flower and then darken the b/g to concentrate attention on the bloom.
I did not see this till you mentioned it, was this done in photoshop or as a filter attached to the lens
I always shoot RAW files and this was done in ACR (Adobe Camera Raw). I do as much processing as I can in ACR before finishing off in PS.
I haven't used ACR before, I use Digital Photo Pro which came with my 1D. I must have a look at it some time.
I have been using ACR and PS (and Lightroom) for a long time now. There is a bit of a learning curve at the start but it is worth it. The only was to use ACR and PS now is to get a 30 day trial from Adobe but after that to continue using it you would need to sign up to the Photogaphy Plan for $13.20 per month and that includes all the latest updates. I like to have the latest software so, for me, that is a bargain and I have never regretted going with the CC subscription because of all the improvements that have come along. And thay just keep coming. When I got the 1Ds all I got was the body, charger and two batteries (and one of those was dead). There was no software, of course, but I had PS and LR and they could process the RAW files from the 1Ds.
My camera come with the software, EOS utility, Digital Photo Pro and a couple of other programs. The programs you have now cover the ones I have except maybe the EOS utility ( this came with my 60D). It allows me to tether my laptop to my camera. This allows me to set up my shot using the laptop to control the camera and to process the shot as and when I am taking it. Using it on my 60D I can control video or still shots. If you go to the Canon site your camera should have it's software for free and any upgrades for the camera's software would be available. To tether you use a micro USB to USB cord and the software does the rest. Plus it looks pretty cool using your camera hooked up to the laptop and a bit Pro.
Thank you for that extra information, Craig. I will check out the Canon site and see what is available. Thanks again.