The night was dark, and Nicky Bay could hear the hum of insects all around him. He was walking through a rainforest in his home country of Singapore, located in Southeast Asia. On the forest floor, he came across a fallen tree—the perfect place to look for tiny animals! He crouched down to get a better view.

The night was dark. Nicky Bay could hear insects all around him. He was walking through a rainforest. It was in his home country of Singapore. That’s in Southeast Asia. He came across a fallen tree. It was a great place to look for tiny animals! He bent down to get a better view.

In most cases, I just step outside and look around! Often, I go to parks at night. That’s when nocturnal insects come out. I’ll walk around with my camera and a flashlight and search through branches, tree trunks, and leaf piles. When I find something I want to photograph, I’ll squat down to inspect it. First I’ll take a photo from a foot or so away called a “record shot.” This test lets me see what the animal is and what it looks like. Then I’ll slowly move closer for clearer pictures.

If I’m looking for a specific species, I study it beforehand. I want to know: Where is it found? Does it live on fallen logs or a particular plant? What is its size and shape? Does it build a certain type of web, nest, or other structure? For example, some spittlebugs build little white tubes for their young. To find these bugs, I’d have to look for these tubes.

I just step outside and look around in most cases! Often, I go to parks at night. That’s when nocturnal insects come out. I’ll walk around with my camera and a flashlight. I’ll search through branches, tree trunks, and leaf piles. I may find something I want to photograph. Then I’ll squat down to get a better look. First I’ll take a photo from a foot or so away. This is called a “record shot.” This test lets me see what the animal is and what it looks like. Then I’ll slowly move closer for clearer pictures.

Sometimes I’m looking for a specific species. So I study it beforehand. I try to answer several questions. Where is it found? Does it live on fallen logs or a specific plant? What is its size and shape? Does it build a web, nest, or other structure? For example, some spittlebugs build little white tubes for their young. I’d have to look for these tubes to find these bugs.

Years ago, while I was on a group photo walk in Singapore, I found a golden orb weaver. That’s a large spider that builds complicated webs. As I was taking some shots of the spider, a huge cicada flew right into its web, and the spider grabbed it! I knew it was a rare moment. I took photos with a camera that had a special wide lens, which made the cicada appear bigger than the spider. The shots turned out surprisingly well!

I was on a group photo walk in Singapore years ago. I found a golden orb weaver. That’s a large spider. It builds complex webs. I was taking some shots of the spider. Then a huge cicada flew right into its web! The spider grabbed it! I knew it was a rare moment. I took photos with a camera that had a special wide lens. That made the cicada look bigger than the spider. The shots turned out really well!

Photographing small animals has given me a deeper appreciation for them. Every living thing has a role in nature. Even the smallest creatures have their own form of beauty and some lesson to teach us.

My work has also helped scientists. It’s important to me that the scenes I capture are scientifically accurate. I photograph animals in their natural environment, and I am very careful not to disturb them.

There’s a lot that scientists don’t know about invertebrates. Scientists have used my photos to figure out where certain animals live and to understand some of their behaviors. I love that my photos have helped scientists identify new species!

Photographing small animals has given me a deeper respect for them. Every living thing has a role in nature. Even the smallest animals have their own beauty. And they have some lesson to teach us.

My work has also helped scientists. It’s important to me that the scenes I capture are accurate. I photograph animals in their natural environment. And I’m very careful not to disturb them.

There’s a lot that scientists don’t know about invertebrates. Scientists have used my photos to figure out where certain animals live. And they learn more about the animals’ behaviors. I love that my photos have helped scientists find new species!

Anyone can look for small animals and make observations. You can start with taking photos with a phone. The most important part of macro photography is finding and documenting the world around you. Be curious and examine all the little things in nature. Collect photos of all the different tiny creatures right under your nose. Treat it like collecting Pokémon!

Anyone can look for small animals. Then make observations. You can start with taking photos with a phone. The most important part of macro photography is studying the world around you. Then take pictures of it. Be curious. Examine all the little things in nature. Collect photos of all the tiny creatures right under your nose. Treat it like collecting Pokémon!