Effect: Soft Focus

Since it's raining and I'm feeling under

the weather, I haven't taken any new photos

for about a week or so.

This year's weather is certainly different

than last year, where we had very little rain

and the spring season jumped right into summer.

But back to the photos, right?

I'm going to use some photos

that I took about a month ago.

After this photo was cropped,

(a few different ways)

there was something about

it that wasn't "right" for me.

Please note, there was no color

correction done, only the background

clutter was cropped out.

So I decided to try out some of the

effects that Picasa has to offer

and found that the Soft Focus effect

worked best on this photo

(in my opinion).

I think that if I pumped up the color

in the petals, the effect might

be more dramatic...

but I like to capture nature as it is.

What do you think?

Which of these photos appeals to you and why?