WOW... It's beautiful
Such rich colours and great DOF
Good sharpness on the insect as well!
It's like eye candy

Beautiful capture!....great details and colors!
Carlos

While being a very (very!) good image, something seems wrong here. Taking a careful look at the large version I think the insect has been layered into the image. Considering its position in depth it seems to have the wrong sharpness. Also its legs are not standing on anything it seems? The angle of the view on the insect is a bit weird too. Strange... would you like to clarify your technique? If it really is layered in then it is a job well done!

For now I just say that the flower image is superb, such great amount of detail and super-creamy bokeh! Tasty indeed Very well done. Not voting before me gotz some explanation hehe Cheers!

Love the colours and DOF of the flower. I agree with the poet about the hoverfly. It doesn't seem to fit properly and its also lacking in detail.

That's irony for you -- this photo has far less photoshoppery than I usually employ getting things just right. No layering, adjustment or editing was done beyond 1) cropping, 2) levels and slight hue/sat and 3) sharpening. See the original photo here for comparison: http://www.artofgregmartin.com/loop/eb_original.jpg

I think you guys are really reacting to the extremely shallow DOF. All the same, I'd be happy to answer specific questions to further clarify my technique.

Ahh yes indeed! Kudos to you for showing the original. And in that one, albeit the fly still has its feet in the air (schtupit fly!), the sharpness of it (especially in the right crop) fits so much better. I still consider the posted version to look very unnatural, and I now believe it is due to the resharpening after resizing, adding comparatively too much sharpness to the fly that is situated a tiny bit back in the bokeh. Could you try to exclude it from resharpening somehow after resizing and see if it makes a difference?

So now voting for an excellent picture 7/8 from me, a work very well done. Thanks a lot for your clarifications! Cheers!

Then seriously cool picture

Cool capture!

The tones around the subject and the particular contrast there is excellent!

I don't have any issue with the look of the fly so I guess I disagree with the other commenters. If I had to criticize it would be the background, the hues there are leaning to the tawny side of green, a bit too far for my tastes anyhow. And those super dark areas in the background are detracting from the smooth tones seen in the main part of the picture

Fantastic work!
I'm currently in the market for a nice 50mm lens, any advice?

This is the one I have -- and I love it.
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-8-Camera-Lens/dp/B00007E7JU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1246555069&sr=8-1

The lens sirgreg recommends really is an excellent one! Large and heavy, large filter thread, but such a great optical performance. If you need additional info see www.photozone.de (english, but they don't have the test for that one) and www.dpreview.com (they do have the review/test). Good choice, but watch out for sample variation.

I disagree with Wroth, I think the dark background makes the mainsubject stand out more

Beautiful work Greg. I really enjoy the image. Composition, colors and DOF are all great.

Thanks all for the comments and critique. It's great to see various opinions come out... although obviously I'm siding with the people who like it

Lovely capture~~~

I had to look at this several times to figure out why it bothered me. I know it isn't the color because I find the contrasting dynamics of cyan/blue vs yellow/green to be pleasing. After all, this is nature. I kept coming back to the portions of the photo that were bang on sharp and those that missed and finally my eye told my brain that I was looking at an aerial pic of a sweat bee captured just prior to landing on a blue flower. Bang, that's the moment the camera captured the action, the sharpness was locked on the bee's back and immediate surrounding floral antlers. The rest is DOF, the bee seem to be dropped into the shot (literally), and the photo kinda misses. Like a timed event, a split second made the difference here between a great photo and a runner up, IMHO - was a Lensbaby used to photograph this? I ask because it appears to have a radial blur directly zooming below the antler focus area.

...what's a lensbaby?

o_o. this is my comment.