if you hadn't said that they were photos, then yes, i would have assumed they were abstract digital paintings.
the thing is that you are in so close that there is no hint of what the whole object is, and because the material is rather exotic (at least to me) there is no recognition as a real world material.
if you had done the same with polished wood for example i would have recognized it as such immediately. it would also have been much less interesting.
nicely done.