Sometimes we just see a cool image waiting to happen by sheer luck. I don't think I really did much except take the photo.
But thank you everyone anyway.
John, the high-key look in this case appeared almost on its own because of the backlighting. A few areas between leaves had to be slightly brightened in the editor using NX2 colour points to select only the sky. I may go further with that and entirely remove the cyanish sky because it would make an interesting print with a 'pure' white background.
BTW, I've now downloaded the Nik package to have continuing access to colour points for just such work when I finally lose NX2 due to OS upgrades. Of course we'll probably lose the Nik package eventually also. Oh well.
Michael, with the dynamic range and detail capturing capability of the D810, close work is made much easier. And I'm finding that the idea of croppability (sp?) with a 36MP camera is not to be dismissed. It is quite useful actually. I "saw" those sub-compositions in the photo and just had to try them.
I did not have the CO60 on extension, so I could not get as close as I liked to those pollen grains. I may reshoot those again today and attempt to get closer. That is undoubtedly the sharpest lens I own, although I have not tested my UV-Nikkor or UAT, both of which are no slouches in the sharpness department, side-by-side with the CO60 on the same subject.
Sten & Frank - Yes, there is a 'graphical' look to this. It almost seems unavoidable because of so many MP. If you brighten a photo's midtones even by a little bit and add a touch of clarity or detail, this look seems to pop out. In this case it worked well.
