Japanese Lantern

The common name of this hibiscus kind is "Japanese Lantern", but botanically it is called Hibiscus schizopetalus. I found this beautiful blossom in the tropical gardens of the local zoo.

While shooting this image I made sure that I get the blossom into the upper part of the image while I tried to get the pistil quite centered. In post processing I even enhanced this crop, based on the "rule of thirds". The pistil is now totally centered, while the blossom distributes fairly equally on the intersection of the upper third and middle third section. This way, a compositional triangle is created which then (as I hope) leads the eye down to the pistil to stamen, style and stigma of the blossom which are confined to the middle section of the lowest third. I hope this illustration helps.

Data: August 31st, 2011
Canon EOS 400, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM @220mm
ISO 500, f5, 1/400s