Sunflower in the Winter

Sunflower in the Winter

Cloudy days make for a much softer light, especially when photographing things on the ground (as opposed to in the sky). Bright flowers, like the sunflower above, can really come to life in this light, exposing their beautiful colors and amazing details. Note the little "hairs" on the stem just behind the beautiful yellow flower - a detail usually undetected by the naked eye.

What do I like about this photo? The colors are beautiful, as is the composition. The amount of detail is incredible, as well. I used an open aperture to blur out the background, so the flower really pops out and catches the eye.

What would I want to improve? A little more depth of field (via a slightly more closed shutter) might have made more details visible, like the stem and leaves in the bottom-right corner, making the photo a little more interesting. This has to be balanced against blurring out the rest of the background, though.