Damn! This is just amazing! Thanks for it.

Oh dear , well its art I suppose ...

wow...its simple yet beautiful! amazing detail too! what settings did you use to take the pic? :)

I like how the water ripple around the flower.
Great work :)

Oh WOW! My wife really going to love this a lot! I think this is amazing as well. Great work.

Now this one... is good. Actually has an idea and a bit of invention unlike many here :)

A big shout-out to the people of Norman, Oklahoma! I had no idea where it was until I Googled it. LOL.

Don't hate me for being reckless: I hit the auto-contrast command in PS and the rose popped. I'm certainly a big fan of subtlety but this is such a beautiful image. I couldn't resist.

This is lovely. Very clear and crisp, in a stylish setting.

You did a wonderful job with this photo, and I like how you decide to make it less saturated -- that makes it stand out more out more to me. Great composition and detail.

Thanks for sharing!

Yeah, this is very, very nice. Thanks :)

this is good

Awesome shot!
Very nice composition. I love how the soft water forms around the roses razor-sharp edges.
Very well done!

Thanks a bunch for sharing.

Thank you all for your kind comments. This is certainly encouraging especially for a newbie like myself. Thanks!

sometimes it's the simple things in life that make it worth living.

this is one of those simple things.

i love the color and composition.

very well done, indeed.

really a beautiful wallpaper that also looks great in black and white thanks

From a photography standpoint, this is magnificent. As others have mentioned, the way in which the water "reacts" to the petals is outstanding. Nice job.

The humility of this particular flower is quite striking. One could venture as far as to bring up the feminine aspects of flowers, and this one appears to be reacting to its environment. What a wonderful showing of life, and more important, of humility, charm, and the life experience.

Spectacular!

unbelievable clarity in this shot. its fantastic, please keep 'em coming!

WOW

i just cant get over the fact that you got an image this sharp with a kit lens... i use the same camera but i love macro lenses. This is simply amazing and the fact that you got it with a kit lens :) that makes it DOUBLE amazing. Keep up the good work

wicked!

I have to agree with the rest. Usually florals are bursting with color. The choice to go subtle here was a good one. The lighting conditions look to be optimal for this kind of mood shot - it appears it was an overcast day. I do wonder, though, where the body of water is. Norman is a pretty arid place most of the time (accept for the blizzards this past winter). As for knowing where Norman is - just ask any U.S. college football fan. ;-)

In particular, the focus and depth of field are perfect in this photo. Not that the Rebel is an inferior camera - it's not. But this just goes to show it's not the equipment that's most important, it's the person using the equipment that makes the difference.

i believe i voted for this. great shot. what i like the most is how the rose is basically dead center and the water ripples along the edge. i have a question though. what did you do in modifying the water? did you make it grayscale or something else?

Are you kidding me? Wow.

Emos would love this, but it is a very crisp shot.

Thank you all again.

WhiteDog: The rose is in a pond at OU Campus. It was actually a very sunny day (as most days in Norman) but the rose was shadowd by a huge tree.

NateFox: I did not treat the water different than the rose. I guess the shadow helped a lot to diffuse the light. I thought first to have the water gray scale but lowering the saturation on the whole image worked much better, especially fo the ripples on the water.

You know, WhiteDog, I didn't even think about that. Go Buckeyes! :)

well it looks beautiful! very good work.

Tickless my sensess just perfect for my taste. sharp, focused and has simple single target in the middle of the frame. :) perfect wallpaper.

this is so gorgeous; looks beautiful on my imac 24". a perfect desktop. thank you!

Wow, great photo! ..I think you're inspiring me to buy my own camera! And to think you used a kit lens..
Excellent, though! Thanks for sharing!

I don't think I've ever seen a more perfect photo. The rose certainly played it's part - look at those petals in the center. It actually seems to strike a bashful pose. There are no unwanted reflections in the water to distract the eye from the subject, and yet the water itself is an equal contributor to the perfection of the shot. Amazing work. Are you sure you're a newbie?

My favourite so far. Many thanks for sharing. This picture is gorgeous!

Looks gorgeous on my new iPad ;)

Absolutely EXQUISITE! 11/10!

One of my most favorite shots ever. Love the color, subtlety, and simplicity. I've tried to change my background to other pictures, but keep coming back to this calming shot.

That is a gorgeous pic! The dark water is smooth and frozen without any distracting reflections. I can understand the color being subdued to emote that sense of loniliness. Good job. I can only imagine what you had to do get that shot set up. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind seeing a photoshop retouching this photo to be a rose-red and then to see the reactions/comments you would get just by a simple change in color of the subject. Again, great pic.