A couple months back I asked about Macro lenses.  I ended up going with the Nikon 105mm VR.  I thought hard on the older models but decided I would like something for portrait stuff should the need ever arise.  

Seem a little dark to me.

Lol.  Read the OP again.

 

If you're asking for constructive feedback, when you get some, it's polite to say "thank you" and move on even if you feel you addressed it in OP.

Anyway. When you're shooting reflective, small stuff, like the copper bullets, you might make a small light box out of foamcore. I've seen plans for a lightbox that is basically a small sheet of foamcore and $5 worth of LED strip lights behind some muslin for diffusion.

If you get color-adjustable LEDs, you can choose "cool white" or "warm yellow" or whatever to let you forgo the white balancing problems later. If you can destroy the items you're shooting, superglue and a bit of white wire coming through the back of the foamcore will get you away from anything and insure not even a millimeter of the box will be in focus.

Appreciate the advice.  The super glue idea is great.  

 

Back in the early 80's I was into macro photography, this is a picture of a 35 REM, I dug out of my first deer

All I remember  camera was a canon a-1  flash mounted on camera

35 REM before and after a kill

Awesome!

 

Are you using color management? What profile are you embedding in your pictures?

In photobucket?

 

Sometimes browsers and/or upload sites can do weird things with profiles other than sRGB.

Ah gotcha.  I will look into it.