I was trying out the Canon low end lens, the dirt cheap 80-200 f/4.5-56 with a Tamron 1.4X teleconverter and I like the combo...slow to focus, but serviceable; check that bokeh!!
As you can see, this one was taken from about 10 feet <i>inside</i> my front door. It was last September, the morning after Hurricane Isabel struck the Washington, DC, area.
The before version is posted next to it in my gallery.
http://www.pbase.com/al309/recent_favorites
This photo is an old basketball that came over the fence from the kids next door. I moved in close to gain detail not normally seen.
From: http://www.pbase.com/jcboyd/misc b-ball upclose