Blooming Cacti - Critique please

[camera.patty]

Desert Greetings fellow photographers.

I took this picture while hiking in Joshua Tree National Park the other day. This is one of my favorite shots of the day and would like to enter this into a contest.

Questions:
Are the details in the flowers sharp enough?
Is the coloring too bright? Should I adjust it?

Your feedback on this photo is greatly appreciated!



Camera Model: KODAK EASYSHARE Z1015 IS DIGIT...
Date/Time: 2009:04:16 12:36:09
Resolution: 600 x 800
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 55.7mm
Exposure Time: 1/500
Aperture: f/5.4
ISO Equiv.: 80
Light Source: Daylight
Metering Mode: center weight
Exposure: program (auto)

[tvoelcker]

Pretty flowers and the fact you used a grouping of three works very well for the composition.
However, the flowers are not very sharp and look a bit pixiated. Also a little more room on the sides of the frame would be nice. Good idea of filling the frame with the flowers but you want to keep a eye on the edges and try and make sure nothing is touching the sides or extending out of the frame.

[wulf]

This isn't a landscape, so I have shifted it over to the macro critique section.

As Tom notes above, it does seem pixellated. I wonder if the problem is down to the red channel being oversaturated? Flowers are often tricky to photograph because you find that they reflect one colour back too strongly, which goes beyond the capacity of the camera to capture.

Wulf