Having a go at postprocessing again, help needed

When it comes to composition, framing, cropping, editing postprocessing etc (gosh what a list and its not complete even ha ) I am a total disaster, so I have decided to dive into it and try to improve.
So, suggestions, advice and any help is greatly appreciated.
Had a go again at this shot I had uploaded sometime ago, I think, so please comments are greatly sought.
Many thanks




Amin

And a go at turning this macro into an abstract, someone had suggested this about a tulip shot I had so here it is again

Both look ok to me Amin, mind you I do like the Tulip the best.

Personally I I also like the tulip Tel . It must be the vibrant colours that make it more outstanding. So far I think its one of my best macro shots, so I think I have started making small improvement steps ahhh finally the frustration fading away

I like them both Amin. I like the first because of the nice bokeh at the bottom and strangely the second because it's sharp all over and unusual for digital the reds have come up good and blend in with the yellow without looking too loud, which is the usual problem with yellow and red.

I presume these are off a 100mm macro.

The first is slightly spoilt by the white bit sticking out at the top left, but you can't just remove it, that would make the bit below odd.

shim

Yes they were taken with the 100mm macro.
And you are right about the top one of the orchid. Those white bits really spoil it a little. Well, this is a big lesson for me to plan properly and try to shoot thinking about how to crop them and edit. I am still in the very basic stage where I just look, focus and shoot, rather than thinking properly on how to crop, frame etc. But now I am getting it and hope to start taking all those aspects into consideration before shooting. And this was a macro so had all the time in the world to prepare it all, no excuse at all .
Next time

Thanks again for your input shim,

Amin

Tulip for me too, though the exposure on the Orchid is spot on I think the point of focus is wrong.

Spider, where would you put the focus instead?

Wonderfull shots Amin, I already found the tulp amazing on fickr.

I like them both, but the first shows some halo effect at the edge of the orchid. Did you feather a selection to darken the background?

The second has a fantastic sharpness and clarity to it. May I suggest investing in some coloured background boards? Green, Blue and Earth brown, to name a few. Sometimes black is just........a bit to dark.

Martin.

I dont know I said "I think" the point of focus is wrong

Flowers like this are a pain, I think I'd have aimed for the Stamen (if its still called a Stamen on an Orchid) that knobbly white bit in the centre, I think the image is a little on the soft side too, maybe a bit more DOF would have helped.

Dont misunderstand me here, I think its a cracking shot and I'm just saying what I see....its soft Maybe it would have been better presented on its own and not with the super sharp tuluip

The water droplet tulip is ace

Mooi zwart is niet lelijk toch

You can easly change that In photoshop with this photo, the only true black is the background.

I'd go for the tulip too. To me, it emphasises the importance of uncluttered backgrounds.

I didn't say it was ugly. I just suggested an alternative. Why change the background in PP, when you can do it before you take the picture?
Flowers tend to grow and blossom in a natural green environment.
Not in a pitch black one.

Martin.