Closeups

Here is an interesting shot. An Aloe plant bud before flowering.

Steve, my initial reactions are:

1) It looks to me like it needs to be rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise. Perhaps this is the actual orientation of the scene; nevertheless, I find it a bit disorienting in an unpleasant way.

2) I think this picture would be more effective if you toned down the background's out-of-focus highlights, a little, to make them less of a distraction.

3) I don't really see a point-of-view with this picture. It looks to me very "documentary", without much clarity of the photographer's intent. It is natural for a viewer to wonder what the photographer saw which incited him/her to make a picture, why the photographer took the photo as s/he did, and/or wonder why the photographer is showing it to the viewer. To me, this doesn't seem to be purposely communicating anything coherent about the subject; and so it doesn't engage my interest.

Strictly documenting what something looks like is appropriate for some contexts, such as a plant identification guide, and ill suited for other contexts, such as art gallery display. Please tell us a little more about how and why you took this picture.