Despite the intermittent rain yesterday afternoon, I went with my camera in one hand and my umbrella in the other to a local garden and captured this image of a beautiful red poppy. I am not very good with flower identifications, but I think that it is a kind of oriental poppy. I really like the combinations of shapes, colors, and textures that make up this flower and the visible raindrops on the petals was a bonus.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
Mike Powell 
It looks like an oriental poppy. I like the raindrops on it-nice shot.
Thanks. One of my friends took a shot last year of a similar looking poppy and said it was a Moroccan poppy, but I wasn’t sure enough of the identification to put that idea forward in the posting.
Thank you for sharing this, I have never seen such a beautiful, beautiful photo of a poppy – it lives right before my eyes, on the computer screen. Fantastic!
Thanks. For some reason, it was difficult to ensure that the red remained as vibrant as I remembered it when I was making a few tweaks to the photo. With most photos, a slight color shift is ok, but that was not the case with this one. I am glad that you liked it.
I love, love this one!!
Thanks. The flower was gorgeous in real life!
This all really came together well. I like your choice of angle and aperture to get the central portion and the upper petals in good focus. And you’re right–what a vibrant red!
I really appreciate the fact that you’ve looked at the image long enough to analyze some of the choices and compromises that I made. We all make quite a few choices every time we trip the shutter and I am now trying to be a bit more conscious of those choices. Thanks, Gary.
You’re very welcome, Mike. When I like something, I’m happy to provide what feedback I can–and I hope for the same.