My rejected macros.

[lakemonster11]

This has been a fun contest!

[priller]

1. Those are all beautifully done.

I like the grayscale flower very much. But I think I agree with you choosing the martini glass. A strong image, and likely to be different from the other submissions.

[lakemonster11]

5. Thanks.

[alkaline9]

2. Excellent!

I really like them all!! Is the 5th one down a piece of cloth made to look like a rose? Because that shot turned out very well. I also love the macaroni :D

[lakemonster11]

4. It's actually a torn-up strip of a Starbucks cup rolled into a spiral.

A friend of mine made it when we met for coffee, and I happened to have my camera + macro lens with me. It's pretty tiny.

[RagingInMiami]

3. I like the second one

It reminds me of a woman I once knew. (.)(.)

[lakemonster11]

6. Hmmmm...

and yet it reminds me of something more masculine...

[F.Gordon]

7. You do such a good job with the "digital darkroom" thing

These are all very very nice. Like the strings and macaroni. I should probably take a class or sumtin' for "post processing". I get so frustrated with it.

[lakemonster11]

8. I love post-processing.

I think it's really what turns a snapshot into a photograph.

The real breakthrough for me was taking a black & white photography class---learning to do all of the darkroom processing (brightness, contrast, burn, dodge, etc) was really an eye-opener. I think it helped that my instructor put a lot of emphasis on printing.