White rhododendron opening

[DanK]

Saw this on one of our bushes en route to the compost. Had to put other things aside to try it.

I find white flowers very tough. this one has a lot of local adjustments in an attempt to bring out subtle textures.

10 images stacked with Zerene DMap. Minimal retouching from PMax.

C&C welcome, as always.

[Wavelength]

Excellent image; fine details and a nice combination of white, black and green

[mugge]

This is a great shot. I like the way you have done the whites. I hope that others can give you advice on the more technical aspects better than me. This is a very good image in my opinion and it deserves the best advice.
Cheers Ole

[DanK]

Thanks folks. I've been trying to find things that show the emergence of spring, so opening flowers rather than fully opened ones. Rhododendrons are generally tough because they have clusters that are masses of flowers, but this cluster was only partly open.