239: The Teasel

Settings: f/4.5, 1/180,ISO 100, 58mm Helios-44-2 M42, 45mm extension, 1/4 flash, black velvet, white cards, tripod.
(f-number is approximate.)

232: Nettle Caterpillars

Settings: f/8, 1/4, ISO 100, 50mm Pentacon M42, 33mm extension, 1/4 flash, white card, black velvet, tripod.

018: Aloe Leaves

The leaves of a diminutive variety of Aloe plant, seen close up. f/4, 1/180 sec. ISO 100.
I managed to make this shot work to my statisfaction first time, which is surprising considering the exposure and flash were all manual. I also tried the same M42 lens I was using before, but with an extra 16mm extension ring - so that compounds the unpredictability of exposure. I'm sure it's partly down to luck, but I know that I'm getting better at estimating the correct exposure with the particular setup I am using.
The JPEG image wasn't quite perfect stright out of the camera. It was just a bit soft on the focus details, so I added a some sharpening and +5 contrast.