Conservatory Garden, Flower and Bee

Beauty is functional in nature. Every creation plays a role, and has purpose This flower, seen in the Conservatory Garden in Central Park, was once exquisitely perfect in form. Yet, it has served as food for insects, pollinated bees, and played a role in supporting the health or our ecosystem. Even in decay, it has purpose and beauty. There is extraordinary efficiency and utility in creation that testifies of Intelligent Design. We learn much about our Creator by studying his works.

This image was captured handheld using a Canon 10D and Canon 18-55mm F1.8 II lens shot wide open. It was captured raw at 800 ISO and converted using Adobe Lightroom 3. This is a pretty severe crop (almost 100%) from the original image that accentuates the noise pattern. I like that effect!