May 2019 Pam and I visited the New York State historical site of Olana, the former home of Fredrick Church of the Hudson River School of painting. Off the walk was a small planting of flowers, among them a type of “woody” peony in full bloom on Memorial Day weekend, well before the “herbaceous” type that is setting flower buds at that time. These were a striking reddish hue.
On returning home we were pleased to find our own “woody” peonies of the same hue in full bloom as well. On Memorial Day I used the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USB lens and a tripod to capture the following two macros of the flower center with the lens aperture fully open (f 2.8) and at its smallest (f 32).
Question for readers: Which do you prefer, and why?
Click either photograph for a larger version.
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 
Absolutely beautiful. While both are beautiful I prefer the first one with the frills plus the center. I like the clarity of it.
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Pam agrees with you. Thanks for the answer.
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Pretty
Sent from my iPhone
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The first. Prefer the clarity.
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The answers are trending to the first, your choice. Thanks, Ken.
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My mother loved and grew peonies. I’ve not seen them in Australia.
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Peonies are native to China, so that is a surprise. Maybe now you will start seeing them, that’s how it works. ha ha
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F32. Definition.
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Good to hear from you. Yours is the majority choice, for that reason.
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mycreatorscreation wrote my sentiments exactly – the first for clarity! Beautiful start to my day, Michael – thanks!
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My pleasure, Lynne. Good to have your answer.
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Thank you for sharing your photos Michael. The first photo has a bit more clarity.
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It is unanimous — I though it would be closer. LOL
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I vote for F 32 but they are both nice photos.
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Thanks for the good words.
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I prefer the top photo. I love peonies. I have a half dozen white ones that belonged to my maternal grandmother who died in 1946. I would love to know how old these plants actually are! If only they could talk….
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I like the top one
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full depth of field, all in focus. thanks, Kelly
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Yes
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I like the first one (f.32) for its clear, crisp definition.
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Cheers and thanks, Herb
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Beautiful!
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