Extreme Close-Ups: 16 Mind-Blowing Macro Nature Photos

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Have you ever watched a grasshopper scratch its chin, or examined all of the tiny hairs on the face of a bee? Have you seen the world around you reflected in a drop of dew? Unless you’re a macro photographer – taking extreme close-up images of insects, flowers and other objects – you’ve probably never had the chance. These 16 amazing photographs give us up-close-and-personal views of flowers, creepy-crawlies, geckos and water droplets.

Bee Face by Mark Berkery

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(image via: beingmark)

How many chances do you get to see an insect’s face this clearly? Incredible macro photography by Mark Berkery allow us to see every facet on this bee’s eye, and every hair on its nose.

Dew on Dandelions by Sharon Johnstone

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(images via: sharon johnstone)

These incredible photographs depict tiny dewdrops on dandelions, so close-up that they’re hardly recognizable for what they are.  Photographer Sharon Johnstone’s images almost seem like abstract paintings.

Dew-Soaked Damselfly by Ondrej  Pakan

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(image via: ondrej pakan)

A pale blue damselfly covered in dew is an amazingly striking image in this photo by Ondrej Pakan.

Eyes of a Jumping Spider by Thomas Shahan

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(images via: light stalking)

Few people would lean in close enough to get this good of a look at a jumping spider. Thankfully, photographer Thomas Shahan has done it for us, capturing each tiny hair on its face, as well as the mesmerizing reflections in the arachnid’s eyes.

Dew Drop Reflections by Brian Valentine

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(images via: lordv.smugmug.com)

Brian Valentine captures entire worlds that are reflected in drops of dew. Valentine often strategically places items or photographs behind plants that are covered in dew so that the scenes are shown in distorted, spherical miniature within the water.

Eye of a Gecko by Alan M

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(image via: wired)

This photo of a gecko’s eye by Alan M. won Wired’s macro photo contest in 2008, and it’s not hard to see why.