Mary,

I use a Canon Rebel XT DSLR with an inexpensive Quantaray 28-90mm macro lens. I find that using the flash washes out the color of violets a lot, so I try not to use it. Because this slows the shutter speed, blurring is more common. If you want a really sharp picture, use a tripod. This will eliminate the blurring.

Mark

Mary -

what Mark said - is a must. Get yourself an unexpensive table tripod - $9.99 in Best Buy - and stage your pic. You can put a plant on the table with some neutral background - like a solid color throw and utilize a side light from the window. If you turn on the regular incandescent bulb as well- you sometimes can catch the sparkle on the petals.

So - you already have the camera, get yourself a tripod - and try.

If your camera is stable - you can play with digital photo software - and lighten it up, crop etc. If your hands were trembling - nothing can be done. And Mark is absolutely right about flash - you use a regular flash - nothing can be done - the pic will be flat and the colors off. There is a special ring light for such purposes - but for Canon SLRs it is quite expensive. Before they made it quite economical for Nikon mid level cameras, but I am a Canon person.

Good Luck and please post your pics.

Irina