Shutterbugs

Meet our Shutterbugs

Paul Fraser – Stirlingshire, Scotland

Paul is an ecologist and an award winning macro-photographer.  He became interested in macro photography as a way of educating his children about insects and now shares this passion with the wider public through tours, publications and online outlets.  His detailed macro “portrait-style” images, help put “faces to names” and show invertebrates in a whole new light.

Favourite bug: Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa)

Find Paul on Instagram: @pauls_macro_world

Samuel Merriman-Johnson – Hampshire, England

Sam is a zoologist and wildlife photographer who appreciates the little guys, trying to shine a spotlight on the hidden worlds of everyday wildlife that are often overlooked. He has been a smartphone photographer since he got started in 2021, using a Google Pixel 2, and has recently begun using an Apexel 100mm macro clip-on lens.

Sam has always been interested in invertebrates as they are so diverse and widespread, taking up every niche that you could think of and enjoys making them accessible through photography and engagement, celebrating the wildlife on our doorsteps.

Favourite bug: Bees in general, but if he had to choose one, he’d pick the Tawny Mining Bee (Andrena fulva).

Find Sam on Instagram: @wildlifeonyourdoorstep

Josh Clarke – Belfast, Northern Ireland

Josh is an ecologist and conservationist with a focus on invertebrates and exploring topics like emerging invaders. Photography was an outlet to get creative, before becoming a way to share the hidden world around us. His photography projects have included highlighting urban wildlife and showcasing under-appreciated groups like harvestmen.

Favourite bug: At the moment, a caddisfly called Mystacides azurea, as it looks like the antagonist from one of his favourite cartoons growing up, Aku from Samuri Jack.

Find Josh on Instagram: @josh_ecology

Lee Frost – Staffordshire, England

Lee is an award-winning macro photographer who loves getting up close with arthropods beneath our feet.

Lee shares his images across social media, to show how fascinating these little creatures really are and hopefully to show them in a different light.

Favourite bug: Heather Crab Spider (Thomisus onustus)

Find Lee on Instagram: @lee_frosts_capture_of_life

Emily Davis – Edinburgh, Scotland

Emily has always been fascinated by insects. Often misunderstood and underappreciated, Emily hopes that her photos can help show how amazing they really are.

Favourite bug: Any weevil, but if she had to pick just one, it would be the Acorn Weevil (Curculio glandium), which she is yet to photography!

Find Emily on Instagram: @emily.macroscotland

Radoslav Valkov – Bulgaria

Entomology is Radoslav’s lifelong passion and believes that macro photography is an indispensable tool in revealing the scientific significance and beauty of invertebrates. Radoslav is used to different kinds of photographic equipment, including old-fashioned Nikon DSLR cameras, as well as a 35mm film SLR camera and non-macro lenses used with macro extenders. Such unconventional approaches help him capture the wonderfully intricate world of the small things that run the planet. 

Favourite bug: Horehound Long-horn Moth (Nemophora fasciella) – an astonishingly interesting and ecologically significant micro-moth that deserves more attention that it’s given.

Find Radoslav on Instagram: @radoslav_valkov, and X: @ValkovR 

Patrick Chadwick – Argyll & Bute, Scotland

Patrick is a filmmaker with a background in documentaries, and over the past few years he has developed a passion for filming arthropods out in the wild, mostly in his garden or in a forest nearby. Patrick films with a BMPCC6K camera and often uses the Laowa 25mm 2.5-5x lens.

Favourite bug: A globular springtail called Deuterosminthurus bicinctus form flavu – it’s a really cute little animal which lives in the forest near where Patrick is based, and which has a wonderful courtship ritual!

Find Patrick on Instagram: @gentlesteps_

Ross Birnie – Essex, UK

Ross has been interested in the natural world for as long as he can remember. His job as a camera operator and video producer has taken him to some amazing places, but he find himself most interested in the invertebrates on his own doorstep in Essex, UK. There is something to be seen everywhere you look. He also uses underwater housings to photograph water based invertebrates

Favourite bug: Probably ants. They are incredible, the way they operate as a unit and exhibit social structure. Also very fond of jumping spiders! 

Find Ross on Instagram: @macroplanetuk and on his website: BeeFly Studios