>The person behind the lens will have a bigger impact overall.<

I agree.  It's mostly about the cook and less about the pots and pans.  One of my favorite art photographers is May Ray.  Some of his more intersting photographs are made without a camera.  A more recent example is Gerald Stola:

Gerald Stola

Gerald's use of the camera has little to do with 'Pro Equipment' and every thing to do with his creative vision.

Although Alyssaw did not use 'Pro Equipment', these images are well laid out, displaying a high degree of sensitive creativity based on form, color and light.  A few I find especially interesting such as: 

Sedots

Alyssaw,  Please keep shooting and sharing !

Thanks

I fully agree that composition and a natural raw talent are key.

However, when one does capture a truly 'great' shot...using pro grade glass/equip...will just make that 'great shot' IQ an extra step higher.

It's the same with music. Joe Satriani will sound great playing guitar through even a modest/budget amplifier system. However when he uses his $250,000 stage rig..it just sounds that 'extra' bit amazing.

There's a reason that professionals use pro level gear or tools.. Even my high-tech running clothing/shoes/etc makes a difference when I'm out on the road during a 10K, half marathon, or whatever. It provides an extra 'edge' that lower performace just gear doesn't. That difference is always a combination of several factors, each providing a small step up, that together kicks it up a notch or two.

Photography is no different in this regard. Here's my short blog on the subject:

http://geofflawrence.com/blog/?p=377

Also,

Diffraction beyond f/16 is not really such an issue anymore (especially with todays editing software) and modern tilt/shift lenses...f/22 and even higher is regularly used in commercial product photography.

KEV

 Here's three of my favourite flower photos...

Georg

GeorgP,  nicely done, beautiful colors, nice use of bokeh.  My favorite is the on one the right.

Georg, 

I really like the one on the left. The water droplets add that extra interest and soft touch...

KEV

Here's some recent macro 1:1 shots I've taken.

http://kvincentphotography.ca/designerflorals/h100fd94c#h100fd94c

http://kvincentphotography.ca/macro/h53a8b5b#h53a8b5b

http://kvincentphotography.ca/macro/h53a8b5b#h37ed5306

http://kvincentphotography.ca/macro/h53a8b5b#hbd5b6a5

It gets rather windy around here during the Fall, so most of my flower shots will be done in the studio over the next couple of months.

KEV

From the Flower Icarus project - coming soon

Ominous

 Kev,

Beautiful work!!

Karen

Here are a couple:

Thanks,

Raman

 Raman

These are gorgeous - and your macro work on your site is spectacular.

The images in this entire thread have been inspiring - thank you!

Here is an image that is one of my favorites:

http://VisualOvation.zenfolio.com/p582865070/e3d403c1a

Stephanie

 Fanks - Karen,

 I just duz me best

 Cheers,

 KEV

Another from the Flower Icarus project

Flowerbolt

Bolted

Hi John,

You definitely have a sunflower obssession-fetish

I like the mechanical (bolts) and organic (flower) mix...simply because it represents something that doesn't exist in the the natural world.

I see that you have also obtained a better DOF across the frame with your new setup.

The compositional slant is Kool. Just one CC if I may. On my screen the shots have a somewhat dark/dull persona - which I think is the result of a low mid-range dynamic. A little D-lighting adjustment would give them a bit more pop! 

KEV

Hi Kev,

I appreciate your CC.  I acted on the on the comments that you provided several months ago and it made a big difference for the better.  Thanks for that!

You are right I have been struggling with darken images.  I caught myself posting several images in the same color space used for printing (ProPhoto) which resulted in dark screen images. I'll recheck the mid -range to see if I can get them to pop more.  

By the way several of you floral images caught my eye.  In particular

Spoon Star

and 

Gerbera Daisy

Both these have wonderfully saturated colors and fine details.

The world needs more beauty. The floral art photographers sharing their images in this forum are certainly doing their part to make sure the world get it!

Hi John,

IF those were my pics - I would simply play around with the D-Lighting/shadow-recovery aspect a bit,...plus add some "selective" lighting to specific regions, in order to bring out the mid-range dyamics within the frame. 

Yes, we NEED lotz of colour!

I must have been starved of it as a kid...so now I'm flower MAD

KEV