Interesting pic...

"my work has been commended as strongly vaginal"

well.... puting aside what nice said. this picture is really nice and the kind of picture as use to take. I never thought I would say this but, I prefer your version. I am usually on your wife's teem but this time I may change my t-shirt to yours (lol) .

I can see both sides for once :-)
I think that your image is the better "flower" but your wife's choice would be more "erotic" So it depends on whether you want floral or erotic!
Overall I probably would go for the flower but on the other hand.... ;-)

ok, it's got a certain intimacy about it! I like it a lot.

seeing the thumbnail of this picture(in the rss-feed) i thought: huh... nice picture. looks really interesting. texture & color.
a few seconds later i was disappointed by both large versions. yours and the one of your wife. what i miss is the sharpness of the small version. the clear and crispy surface of the leaves. would be interesting to know which version your wife has seen over your shoulder...

docvoo: both versions that are up are unsharpened, partly because I didn't think that "crispy" suited this shot, but also because the original wasn't particularly well focussed and all my attempts at sharpening it ended up looking artificial.

you just blew all the other flower photographers i've visited online out of the water. seriously, i did not know there was such a thing as flower erotica. ;)
both are extremely sensual. your wife's preference more so, i think.

flower erotica...I think my boyfriend is going to be mad at me... ;) I prefer yours, its brighter, and softer, which I guess fits the theme more.

it should be some sharper spot on this because my eyesight is running all over the photo.

I really like the one you have chosen - while the one your wife likes has more texture, I think this one shows more emotion and depth...

I liek yours better, however I think both of them suffer from either motion blur or soft focus. A sharper focus would help greatly

I like your version a lot better. Funny photo! :)

Well, they both look pink and fleshy but I'm not sure either of 'em are what you both wanted. I agree with your wife though.

Ahaha. Hoot. I have your Feeds bookmarked, so when I saw the title of the entry I was like, "What?"

But this image, no matter if it looks like a vagina or not, is still really beautiful. Fabulous. :)

very Georgia O'Keefe - well done ;) I like your version better as well, however I think it would benefit from a slight sharpening.

Your images have a lot of techincal beauty.

Lin.

This is better. :-) I think the petal's has a soft texture that I wasn't thinking about, but now that's it's been sharpened a tad it's really nice.

Good job.

I agree with M -- your wife's pick is definitely more erotic, but I like your variation better. I generally prefer that cleaner, lighter look.

Whoa, cover your eyes kids! What a great shot, geez that macro lens is awesome.

What's funny is your wife wanted to show texture.... and you photo in my opinion shows much more texture then hers. :-p

You wife should know by now she can't top the Europe best photoblog. :)

oh, what an erotic shot!.............it really looks like vagina to my imagination.i just never thought there's such a flower like this.

great find!

Pretty picture. Just as a message to everyone: it's not like floral erotica is an entirely new concept. Are any of you familiar with the work of Georgia O'Keeffe? For a taste, take a look at her painting, "Black Iris."

Okay, sorry, props to Beth for commenting about it before me ... haha.

I think that this is a very interesting shot indeed, for me it is more the suggestion of the erotic rather than a direct representation (i.e. "looks exactly like...") that makes the image interesting. In that vein I like your image more than your wife's as your image is more suggestive and perhaps gives the viewer pause to think and contemplate the implication implied in the image while your wife's pick is a more direct representation and is much less subtle.

Although I have not commented before, I have been following your photographic exploits for quite some time now and have to say that I thoroughly enjoy my daily visit to chormasia.com. Just outstanding photos all around - keep up the good work!

If I have kids and they ask me where babies come from, I now have another URL as reference.

Sorry to be stopping by so late. I take it that you didn't give your wife's version the same sharpening treatment. Just like a man.

I strongly prefer your version (yes, women can change their minds occcasionally and give you a win). It is soft and detailed and delicate. I see flower petals. And, oh by the way, there is also a suggestion of ... er, something else -- but flowers first.

I must say that your capture of irregularities in the edges, at the folds, does give the impression of much more than just petals. For that, a star for an excellent eye and composition.

a tastefully erotic shot. I think I like your version better though, even though I think your wife's is more raw and true.

The composition is nice, but I wish the image were a tad sharper. My eyes have a difficult time taking in the beauty of the photo with the slight blur.

I've always been partial to the palest whisper of pink. You made the right choice. If you care to, check out one of my own favourites: Pink Rose & Baby's Breath

This is really, really! a great shot. The tulip immediately looked familiar. Is that because I am dutch? Great work, David!

That's some sexy stuff. I like both versions but you're right I prefer your version the most.

Ah you just made my morning, I cracked up when I saw the title. I like yours better, the other one is a little too close to the real thing...

Oh, and I will be using the phrase "photo erotica" in the near future, so thanks for that one :)

A very sexy shot. I enjoyed it.

Excelent post proccesing shot.
And quite funny :)) No its tulip :))). Great work.

Oh MY! Very erotic for a Monday afternoon.

Apologize to your wife for me, but for this one, I prefer yours, but that may be because the slight over-sharpening gives it a very soft and erotic texture. Maybe if you gave her version another USM pass I would swing back over her way ;)

Nice shot though. I really need to get a better macro lens. My cheap diopter lens can't pull it off like this :D

K1C: "...my eyesight is running all over..."
i think that's what i meant. a place to rest for my eyes. i miss that place in this picture. if i may compare this shot with two others of your collection(i have just seen them for the first time, although i am a daily visitor and really adore some of your pictures(just additional, superfluous info))

http://www.chromasia.com/iblog/archives/0402101336_clean.php

i know. not such a severe close-up. but still. what i called 'crispiness' enforces the structure of the leaf. the 'venes' of it almost stand out and have the chance to appear as 'graphical' lines. grab attention. the green color stands out. variations by those mildly rough shadows on the left side of the 'venes' make it even more 'vibrant'. a shot not as abstract as the current one but having this certain 'kick' that i miss.

http://www.chromasia.com/iblog/archives/0402130115_clean.php

another example for my probably strange 'lust' for 'crispiness'. but again. the color doesn't get me. the lines are blur...
i don't want to over-critisise or upset you. that's just what i think. for today. i am going to have another look tomorrow. who knows ;).
(please excuse my english, i am still learning so that i'll be hopefully able to really express what i mean without seeking for proper words constantly in the not so distant future.)

great!!

I think you may have struck out on this one. Your version is just not all that interesting. Sure there is the erotica aspect of it but that only lasts a second. The color and levels are better on your version hers is too dark. If this were in focus I would be more intested. Perhaps I too long for more crispness.

Oh my, I'm retarded. I meant to say "floral erotica." I was a bit tired this morning...

Wonderful floral abstract. I'm diggin' the various pink tones.

great shot..i prefer the one that is posted here
great title as well

the guy said it was vaginal.. damn, now that's praise.

I think sharpening did it some good. Flowers are interesting because to the touch, they're impeccably soft, but at the same time there is a lot of visual texture to them. Visually, they're not smooth at all (at least at such macro). This version brings that out more.

The slight sharpening did the trick - beautiful :)

just love the comments...."like yours more than yours wife" and so on,...you did it again, superb pic with hillarious comments! well done! It is the more floral vagina I ever see before!

I like your version better too. Of course, if you wanted an alternative, perhaps B+W.

It's pretty well all been said, echoes of O'Keefe, Weston, Mapplethorpe, etc., but I liked your wife's choice at first (it was more sensual), then came around to yours after the sharpening. I echo Ron though in wanting to see a black & white version.

Wow, I wasn't expecting quite so many comments on this one :-)

For everyone who commented on the sharpness (or its absence): this should have been sharper from the outset, but it was slightly out of focus.

rachel: thanks for the link. I had seen it before, but not for quite some time.

Oh, and my wife is now quite cross with me as the version of mine she critiqued wasn't this one but an earlier, much more 'chocolate-box-like' attempt ;-)

docvoo: I agree, some crispness would have helped.

Ron and fraxinus: I did try a black and white version but I wasn't at all happy with it.

I think your wife wins on this one. i much prefer the darker one.

I like this photo a lot.. there is something so calm and dreamy about it.

I didn't even floral erotica exists, LOL! I shot some of fruits but flowers...! Something new to try!

god this is awesome. such wonderful subliminal undertone. the lines you've captured are breath taking

thanks.

This is a flower? How nice.

OLA ESSA IMAGEM É UMA BOCA OU O QUE É ?? MUITO INTERESSANTE