This would have been expressive if you had been able to focus on the spines instead of on the flesh of this cactus. Your autofocus simply focused on the wrong part of the picture. To make it focus correctly you must be able to lock focus on the spines themselves, requires a lot of practice in targeting your subject. Macro photography is very difficult because the depth of focus is very narrow, even at f/7.1. You must be dead on, the plant must be absolutely still, and you must be absolutely still. That is why most photographers use a tripod for macro work.
