A tulip? But tell me how much I messed up PP....

[JonA_CT]

Walked into my house this weekend, and the sun was hitting the flowers on my kitchen table perfectly. Of course, I was supposed to be tending to my daughter rather than taking pictures, at least that's what my wife argues, so I didn't have time to arrange. Snapped a few photos over about 20 seconds, and ended up with this:

flower by jwa04, on Flickr

I decided I would try to take it to Photoshop to isolate the nice bud, but I really have no idea what I'm doing. I'm guessing there is a better way to do it than the clone stamp? (Yes, super noob.) How would you guys have done it? And what book should I buy so I can not ask stupid questions? Thanks!

flower iso by jwa04, on Flickr

 

[Watchful]

A slightly deep DOF would work nicely with this subject. Nice shots though.