Macro fun

Here are a few of my recent macro photos, just for the fun of it. Before I became a journalist, I spent quite a few years researching the skeletons of invertebrates using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and also did a fair amount of optical microscope stuff in my time. The macro lens on my Nikon Coolpix 4500 almost fulfils the same function - opening up a world of detail that you just don't see with your naked eye.


This harvestman (at Bedford Purlieus this lunchtime; 5.7.04) seems to have picked up a mite parasite (or something equally gruesome).


Up close you can see much more of the structure of the harvestman (including its diddy eyes), though the red 'mite' becomes not much clearer.


This froghopper was sitting on the car of my friend Brian Stone (see The Natural Stone website, linked on the column on the right). Brian kindly gave me a lift to Bedford Purlieus this lunchtime (where we gorged ourselves on Purple Hairstreaks, White-letter Haristreaks and the odd White Admiral – see my earlier post from 3.7.04).


Another example of the microscopic qualities of the macro setting. Check out this neat Large Skipper.


Now check out the hairy legs on the same beast.