Look what we found in the garden: Photographer who only picked up the photography bug three years ago takes a close-up look at insects



Amateur photographers looking for inspiration should look no further.

For these fantastic close-up images of insects were taken by a photographer who picked up the photography bug just three years ago.

Keith Trueman, from Braunton, in North Devon, hunts for the bugs around his garden or around the local country park - and sometimes even invites the insects into his kitchen for their own personal photoshoot.

Keith found this Jumping Spider - Salticus scenicus - in his garden before inviting it indoors. The spider is a variety which shuns webs, hunting prey instead

The common wasp - Vespula vulgaris - was also willing to have his portrait taken, thankfully not stinging Keith in return for the picture session

Bet you've never seen this creature up close: The Vine Weevil is a common enough garden pest, nibbling on the edges of leaves and leaving little notches behind



The Common Blue Damselfly hangs around gardens most summers. The long creatures have a surprisingly gruff appearance when you get up close to them



The Rove Beetle is one of the oldest creatures around - they have existed for 200million years at least. But it is only in the last 100 years or so that they could be pictured



The Scorpian Fly is actually a species of flea, which mates through elaborate mating rituals involving gifts from the males to the femals



The photographer, 41, uses a Canon 7D camera, generally around £800 in retailers, as well as a variety of macro-lenses to get his close-ups.

When he's not concentrating on the lives of bugs, he also captures close-up images of water-drops and landscapes around North Devon.

He said: 'I became inspired by the work of other photographers on sites like Flickr and wanted to give it a go myself.

'It can be daunting and there's a steep learning curve to macro-photography, but websites like photomacrography.net contain some wonderful photographers who are willing to share experiences and stories, and help newcomers.'

Keith's eye for detail has already landed him praise - winning local and online photography competitions, which has led to his work being published in Photography Plus, Practical Photography, and Digital Photography magazines.

However, he may be slowing down for a year or two, with his partner expecting a baby in the next few months.

To take these photographs, Keith would create a photo-booth in his kitchen, using insect clamps to hold the little creatures still.

He said: 'The clamps keep the creatures still without hurting them, so that I can take the pictures but then release them safely back into the wild, probably wondering what they went through.

'Actually my partner will stay out of the kitchen and keep the door shut when I'm doing shoots, after those occasions when insects have escaped and then started flying around.

'My best advice for people starting out is to find information on the internet - there's a wealth of data out there which can help people get started, and get better'.











Keith said: 'This image took me quite a few hours to set up. The Ant is only 3mm in length. I'm not overly happy with the lighting and looking at it now'

Keith added: 'I wish I had diffused it a bit more and perhaps placed a couple of lens shades on the LED lights to help tame the light'

Hopefully Keith did not need to get too dirty taking this image of the Dung Fly: There are 54 varieties of this creature in Britain



One last bug makes its way through Keith's kitchen, before being shooed back out into the garden



See more of Keith's photographs on his Flickr account.