I think the main difference between the first and the second shots are that the first one has defined edges, contrasting the flower from the background. Yet, the second one has soft edges. If you had done the same shot, yet stopped down to bring more of the flower in focus, I think it'd have been nearly as good as the first.
They are posted there http://www.srtforums.com/forums/f41/general-photography-thread-vi-412407/index27.html
1st one really is amazing. I might try something along these lines. Nice SRT as well, the black rims look really nice against the white. I never liked the way the front of the SRT looked though.