December Rose

[Longhiker]

Raked leaves, many leaves, and pruned the roses today. There was one die hard December rose that hung on. Some just don't know when to quit. There's nothing really special about the image, I just thought I would honor this one last hold out that refused to give up despite freezing temperatures and heavy rains.

[afx]

A lot more interesting than the typical rose shot.
I like the colors and the decay.
Presentation also works nicely.

cheers
afx

[Jakov Minić]

I love the jar and the white background. That rose has character. I love it.

[stenrasmussen]

Everything with thorns have a villain in them...that's why I don't like some of my former co-workers/GF/bosses (with the latter two being one and the same sometimes) 
I like this picture!

[Longhiker]

Thanks guys. There is something visually compelling about decaying flowers that I've always liked.

[Lars Hansen]

Thanks guys. There is something visually compelling about decaying flowers that I've always liked.

Funny .. that's somewhat how I feel when I look into the mirror 

As for the shot - I agree with others. I like it!   

[HCS]

I also like it.

Is this crop the way you shot it, or cropped later. Somehow i'm wishing for a bit more room around the rose flower.

Including the jar is a good move in my book.

[Longhiker]

Thanks. Hans, it was cropped a little. I would have liked to have more white space, but I didn't have much space. This was a very quick and dirty shoot. I grabbed a jar (actually a local brewery makes mugs that look like a mason jar with a handle) so the rose would be upright. Laying it down created too many distracting shadows. The camera was on a tripod to steady it for the self-timer while I held a sheet of paper behind the flower as the background. Lighting was whatever fell from the interior family room lighting. Fancy. A nice flash setup would have been better, but I didn't want spend that much time. Anyway it met my intentions.