Practice makes perfect???

Yet another Azalea blossom - well actually new flower buds.

Today I really didn't have time to go out and take many photos. Our daughter, my husband and I ran errands, went shopping, and went out for lunch. My daughter, who many of you know as ramblerstale, did take some pictures of the mountains and valley from our deck, but I was making dinner, etc. A little later, my mom and brother arrived from Oregon. And tomorrow, one of my daughter's friends from China arrives. We will have a houseful! Isn't it great!?!

So I decided to work on a simple thing - manual focusing. I have become much to enamored with auto-focus. I decided to go "old school" with this shot - manual everything (well, as much as I could). I find it very interesting that I have this amazing camera that can think for me, and I decide to turn its brains off and do it myself. Is there something wrong with me?

I sent my ISO a little higher because I wanted to get more detail. I took several shots with various aperatures and shutter speeds. I also manually focused each shot focusing on the buds. I wanted to show the detail in the folded petals and the little hairs on the leaves and stems. My processing was minimal. I increased the contrast a bit as well as the vibrance but did not increase saturation. I think the shot has some interest, but I am still not satisfied. Please go large to see the detail of the petals. As always, I welcome your thoughts.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are enjoying the season.