Hey Dave,
Love what you are doint with the light!!! I think this really makes the leaf stand out. I would expect more sharpness on that DOF.....so wondering if there was slight monvement because of the SS. I do think pushing the ISO a bit more to get a bit faster SS will help.....even if it is only to 1 second as slight breezes can be a culprit. My hose is 100years old.....so the slightest movement makes the macro stuff move at those SS's! Since you cropped....I am debating a 1 or 2 degree CW rotation.....keeping the veins on a diagonal but then allowing more of base vein to show in a ROT line. Just some food for thought. You are making want to go out and buy one just to play around with this!