Like Andreas said you have some lovely shots there of flowers. The yellow one is outstanding !!! The others are good too perhaps they just need a little adjustment in PS for levels and contrast ?

Anyways to your ongoing concern, photographing crystals with a Canon Pro 1. I have a Canon G6 which is essentially the same for focusing and macro, my advice is based on this, but I am sure it applies equally well to the Pro 1.

Focusing - You will have a problem with auto focus unless you adapt your method of taking the shot. The auto focus works by comparing areas of high contrast, it therefore needs high contrast to focus accurately.  If your crystal is filling the focusing area then it will not have enough contrast because it is essentially all the same material. The solution is to pre-focus the camera using something e.g. a dice. The dice, black spots on white, will be enough contrast for the camera to auto focus on, then lock your focus by pressing MF and replace the dice with the crystal and take your shot. This is assuming you are keeping the camera in one place by use of a tripod, beanbag, pile of books, etc.  If you are shooting flowers outside then keep something handy  eg a piece of paper with large black print on a white background to focus on, or keep in mind that your camera will focus on the area of highest contrast and adapt your photographic style.

Exposure - The second issue to tackle is exposure.  Use spot meter readings!  One of the reasons the yellow flower above is such an outstanding shot is because the exposure is perfect. The scene has dark and light areas, therefore the camera has middled these really well and come up with a great exposure. Where a scene does not have all areas from dark to light in it the camera will need some help. In a perfect world you will go to a local camera shop and buy a 'Grey Card' these are inexpensive and will guarantee a perfect exposure. Any exposure meter works by deciding what a mid tone is, therefore with a grey card you are helping a lot. If you fill your exposure area on the camera with say a white crystal the shot will come out grey and muddy looking, this is because the camera has shot for a mid tone and therefore underexposed it (eg your white flowers above where the camera has made the whites look a bit dull). The solution is to put the grey card in front of the crystal and let the camera decide the exposure by holding down the shutter button halfway. This done you can lock that exposure on my cam by pressing *  Now take you grey card out the way and take your shot, that is already focused from doing the focusing step above.  If you have not got a grey card with you, or want to shoot without one, meter off the palm of your hand it will be pretty near perfect.  

I hope this helps, it probably sounds complicated, but if you use these methods a few times you will do it automatically and always get good shots that are in focus and correctly exposed, no matter what the subject is or the colour of it.

Good luck

Richard.

PS - If you want the crystal to really look showy with lots of colour use a penlight torch to spotlight it. The incandescent light will easily split into many pleasing colours. Something like a Maglite works wonders becaues you can focus the beam of light - you want the smallest size they do. 

 

 

And every one said, 'If we only live,
We too will go to sea in a Sieve,---
To the hills of the Chankly Bore!'
Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.

Edward Lear
http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/ns/jumblies.html