Thanks Lynette,

I just posted my camera details on my bio page... My camera (Canon 20D) is very similar to your Canon Digital Rebel.

For the flea shot, I used the MP-E65mm lens with two off-camera flashes. The flea was on a portable light table, with the light off. I handheld the shot, even though using a tripod wouldn't have been too hard since the flea was dead... I did brace my elbows. I photographed two fleas, one that I had killed between my finger nails (the one in bugguide), and one that I had killed in the freezer. The one from the freezer had its legs bent in various directions not in the same plane and the photos didn't look as good (some of the legs weren't in focus). Oddly, the squashed flea didn't look as squashed as I thought it would... (Note: usually I prefer to photograph insects while they are alive!)

I sharpened the photo in PhotoShop (as one has to do with all dSLR photos) and removed some dust specks. The only other thing I did to the photo was lighten it slightly using PhotoShop's highlight/shadow tool to bring out some of the details.

Note: the above Melyrid photo was also taken with the MP-E65mm lens.