Lovely. Is the very narrow depth of field entirely physical or was there some post-processing? Either way, it's good to see you back in the natural world :)

I never left; midriffs are part and parcel of the natural universe!

The depth of field is largely dependent on the lens you use; as you can see from the EXIF data above, the lens is a true macro (some manufacturers use the word willy nilly to describe any lens that can manage close focusing, which is not correct) - a real macro can usually magnify a subject to 1:1 (life size) and is designed to have a completely flat field across the entire focusing range and with little or no linear distortion - so at a large aperture, especially apparent at f/2.8, the depth of field can be minuscule, making a good capture nearly impossible when there's movement involved (Remember the spider? Pure luck, and she's not even that sharp).

The flower could have been entirely in focus at smaller aperture, say f/16, but being entirely in focus isn't always the best thing; the sepals were reflexed, and the softer focus enhances that.

Here, there's no p-p of the bloom, but the levels were adjusted to reduce the glare from the rocks in the background. Perhaps I should point this sort of thing out as a rule for the purists.

Lovely stuff. Great DoF.

Oh.. the DoF is perfect. Very nice flower too. You can always come back to Malaysia for same season the whole year.

Honestly my dear I hear the people for the British floral society calling your name, my dear.

k

This is beautiful, I love how the flower just jumps out at you!

Wow, wonderful lighting! The dof is perfect...the flower is in focus but the background is nicely blured. This photo looks just a little bare; I think a crop would better do justice to all the wonderful elements in this shot.