A Study in Macro

Worked on these today.  Have I mentioned that I love my macro lens?  It's really a learning curve, that's for sure, but I'm practicing and practicing.  This is near the center of a Gerber Daisy that I purchased from Safeway's floral department for .99 cents.  I didn't want to spend the money for a whole bouquet just for practice, especially since we already have roses in the house for our anniversary (I practiced on them, too, but they were still pretty closed when I had a block of time to shoot).

Petals, ring of stuff like above, and the very center.

This was processed in Photoshop using an action I found on the web,  I like the contrast but wish the colors would have stayed true.

This is the flower as I shot it.  I'll explain how it seems to float in mid air the pullback below.

For a white background, I set up two cutting boards (plastic type from Ikea) on piece of white seamless that I ripped off the roll.  I put it in a clear glass with the stem wrapped in a white paper towel.  I used natural light (no flash) in an East-facing window early in the morning.  That's my tripod in the foreground.  I'm obviously using my camera to take the photo.

For size reference, here is a penny next to it.

And that's it.  A study in macro complete with pullback.