A Morning of Macro Photography at Warnham Nature Reserve

This past weekend I spent a fantastic morning at Warnham Nature Reserve, focusing on one of my favourite areas of photography—macro work. The warm weather brought the insects out in force, making it the perfect opportunity to capture the hidden details of the smaller creatures that often go unnoticed.

Armed with my macro setup, I was able to get up close and appreciate the colours, textures, and incredible variety of species buzzing, hopping, and crawling through the reserve. Each subject presented its own unique challenge—some staying still long enough to allow for a clean shot, while others kept me on my toes with their quick movements.

Here are some of the species I managed to capture during the session:

• Chequered Hoverfly

• Common Froghopper

• Common Green Capsid

• Common Wasp

• Dock Bug

• Epagoge Grotiana (a beautiful little moth)

• Harlequin Ladybird

• Non-Biting Midge

• Pammena Regiana (a tortrix moth)

• Pellucid Fly

• Phalacrotophora berolinensis

• Phaonia angelicae (a yellow dung fly)

• Rutpela maculata (longhorn beetle)

• Speckled Bush-Cricket

• Sycamore Aphid

• Willow Flea Beetle

It was an incredibly rewarding session—so much life in every direction, and a reminder of how much beauty exists when you take the time to look closer. Macro photography really shows that even the smallest creatures can be full of character, colour, and detail.

I’ve shared a selection of these shots in this post—let me know which one catches your eye the most!