REWORK
I planted 10 bulbs in the spring, and this is the first to flower. I love this one as it combines great shape and colour with a fragrance that blows me away.
I haven’t done a stack for a while, so have at me, stackers.
D500 + 105mm macro 1/1600 f5.6 Iso 640 EV -0.67 Tripod
Stacked in Zerene, 7 shots DMap (90%) Topaz Denoise, Shadows, Highlights and Curves in PS.
The whites are properely exposed and I am enjoying the symmetrical presentation of the comp. The subject may also work very well with a square format comp too. Well done…Jim
Gorgeous flower, Mike. I’ve never seen one quite like it. I do agree with Jim, about the square crop. Seems like it would fit the shape well. Looks like to me it was somewhat of an overcast day so there are no harsh lights to deal with and you’ve gotten wonderful detail and textures in the petals. Can’t wait to see more of these as they bloom.
These are so lovely - I’m glad you planted them and found such a pristine example. Flowers get so beat up over time. I played with it in Photoshop just to add a little clarity and do some color grading to the flower itself. Not a huge change, but I think it gives it a little pop. YMMV.
That’s an exquisite beauty Mike. I wish I could smell the fragrance when I view the image too! The stack looks great; the detail in the large view is a joy.
I agree with the above recommendations, but would consider less of a crop. I also really like what @kristen did. In fact, darkening the background slightly might build on her theme and make the flower and its stalk stand out a tad more.
Here’s a quick and dirty run at those ideas. Lots of personal preference involved in the changes, and regardless of what your final choices are it’s a lovely image.
Nice gesture; it’s like the flower’s trying to raise it’s hand & get attention in class. 
Nice background blur.
Beautiful image Mike! The flower is gorgeous and your shot is excellent! The lighting and detail are very good. I like the subtle changes Kris and John made but it is very good as is. Well done!
Mike, a sensational portrait of a beautiful flower. Well done. The stack works very well because you’ve managed to keep the background nicely out of focus. When I first looked at this I felt it might be just a little flat. I like what @Kris_Smith and @John_Williams did as they helped to give it some pop. I took it into Affinity Photo and gave the white point in Levels a bump up. There was room before the whites blew out. Pretty simple change that I liked.
Either way, love this image all around.
Thanks all for helpful comments. I’ve followed the tips of @Kris_Smith , @John_Williams and @David_Bostock and posted a rework above.
Looks great Mike!
