A macro-photography enthusiast has shared his spectacular work of photographed insects on social media.

Benjamin Salb, 35, from Northern Virginia in the United States, works as an IT professional who always had a keen interest in photography. During the last year, he decided to look deeper into his hobby and discovered micro-photography which took him on a journey of photographing insects which he later shared on social media.

Benjamin told Clipzilla: “I became interested in macro-photography at the start of the pandemic when there was little else to do. I started taking photos around my garden with the equipment I had at hand, and eventually decided to set up an Instagram account for those photos.”

He was very glad to discover that there was a micro-photography community, adding “I followed a ton of macro-specific Instagram accounts and learned as much as I could about the settings and equipment they were using. Eventually, I befriended many of those photographers I followed and now we all try to inspire each other.”

Before discovering micro-photography Benjamin was always trying to improve as a photographer. “I primarily took photos of people and my dog before macro photography. It was a hobby but I did work a few paying jobs.”

Photographing insects is more challenging, but entertaining as well: “For me, it’s whatever will let me photograph it. Colourful bugs will always be a hit, but jumping spiders and pollinators are some of my favourite subjects. “

The research of subjects happens around his house. “I spend a lot of time in my yard looking for new things to photograph.”

Comparing his current passion to previous experiences, he jokes “People are easy to photograph because they can’t disappear into the grass or air, or even inside my house on a few occasions.”

Benjamin explains that he now uses special equipment for micro-photography. Sometimes, he also uses special software to include several photos together.

“Many of my images are single photographs, but some are up to 45 photographs stacked together. This is done because when you’re photographing at high magnification, the lens can only get a minuscule focal plane. In order to create a pleasing image of a small subject, you need to sandwich numerous focal planes together. “

Benjamin says he is very happy he found his true passion with micro-photography. He is also very grateful for the community he found online: “I think we’re all there for each other because we understand the challenges of photographing bugs at high magnifications.”