A tough flower to get, as it was under the canopy of a Japanese Maple and I couldn't move it. Required placing the camera on the tripod and holding the flash slightly below the camera.



Sigma 150mm macro, f/11, 1/25s, ISO 200, -0.67 EV, tripod, flash

Hi Diane,

This is really lovely. The black background is natural than and not a drop?

James

Yup, natural background. There was a shed behind the flower, which was under the maple tree. By holding the flash low and a bit off to the side, I illuminated only the flower. The light never reached behind, and therefore the result is a black background. In the larger res version, you can see details of the maple tree, but at this small res image, all you see is black.