Back in the day, I was shooting macro with the kit lens. Fortunately, it could focus fairly close, so I was pretty happy with the results.
These days, I am still shooting macro with the kit lens. Fortunately, I found out about extension tubes, and can get much closer to the subject than back then. Not sure how much bugs would tolerate that, but for this photo challenge, I'm shooting an inanimate object, so it can't complain.
For my macro shots, I am relying on my tripod, a remote shutter release, and live view. Focusing in live view is a bazillion times easier than through the view finder for macro work. Plus there's the added benefit of being able to zoom in on the image, digitally, and really nail the focus. Whether or not you chose the focus point wisely for the composition of the photo cannot be helped by live view.
And yes, that piece of lint bothers me, too.
