Hydrangeas in motion

Late this afternoon I experimented with a technique I've tried a few times, but just haven't gotten the hang of.  The idea is to create a "burst" effect where the center of the photo is in focus and the image radiates out from the focal point.  This is accomplished by quickly zooming out while the shutter is open.  The first thing I didn't do right was that I had too much light to use a slow enough shutter speed to evenly turn the zoom ring.  The second thing was that I was too lazy to get my tripod out, so I didn't get a clear shot of the center image.  The first photo is my not so great attempt at this technique.  Next time I'll set up my tripod and shoot in lower light.

The second image was just a "mistake" photo where I didn't get the zoom turned much at all and I didn't get a burst effect, just a blurred image.  I kinda liked it though....I thought it looked like an oil painting.