The timeless colors and distinctive shape of a rose is suspended against a deep, dark background.

This was another photo-gadget exercise.   I wanted to lighten the colors of the rose with my electronic flash, but I wanted to keep the background dark - and I wanted the rose to look soft.  I placed a inflatable diffuser bag over the head of my electronic flash and connected the flash to the camera body with a PC cord.  I held the flash high and off to one side to keep from casting light on the background.  The result was a bright, but soft light which seemed to hit only the rose flower, but nothing else.  It's usually a good idea to take several photos with combinations of equipment settings when trying out the gadgets you don't use on a regular basis.