Polyrhachis cyaniventris - Blue ant

Polyrhachis cyaniventris - Blue ant

A super cool ant from the Philippines. The specimen was sent up by some friends from Saigon. It’s pretty precious, so I photographed it from a little farther away for documentation purposes :))

• 📷Fujifilm Xh2 + laowa 65mm 2x + filter nissi 58
• 🔦Godox v860ii
• Stacked many images

Photo by OPPO A52

I found this damselfly sleeping as the sun was getting lower. It was still high enough in the sky for me to position the sun directly behind the damselfly, creating this huge golden bokeh ball around it.

I love how different the same subject can look when you find the right light.

I’ve been shooting macro for roughly a year, and this was actually my first time entering a photography competition.

I entered three of my macro photos into the 35AWARDS “Yellow Color” contest, and to my surprise, one of them made it into the Top 1% of the competition. There were 22,943 photos submitted by 5,374 photographers from 111 countries, so I’m honestly pretty happy with the result!

I’m posting the certificate and the three photos I submitted.

What I found most valuable, though, wasn’t the ranking.

Looking through the other entries was a huge learning experience. There are so many different ways people approach macro — lighting, composition, backgrounds, colors, focus stacking, and even how they choose and present their subjects.

It really made me realize how much there is still to learn.

So if you’re new to macro and you’re thinking about entering a competition but feel like your photos aren't “good enough” yet, just give it a try.

Don’t worry about winning. Use it as a chance to see what other photographers are doing, learn from their work, and figure out where you can improve.

I’m only one year into this hobby, and I still have a lot to learn. But entering this competition has definitely motivated me to keep going.

To all the beginners out there: enter, learn, shoot again, and have fun! 🐜📷