Inspirated by inspired by the recent Apple Macro Challenge inspired by the Apple Macro Challenge, we this week challenged PopPhotoreaders to go smaller and find the beauty in everyday life. In the daily grind of life it’s easy to overlook the beauty that is everywhere. But a lot of it is tiny or almost invisible to the naked eye.
This week’s winners showcased the amazing intricacies of the flowers, plants and the creatures that stick to them. Among them was an dandelion rescued mercifully from the mower’s blades and a stunning representation of dragonfly wings in the image that was chosen as the leading picture.
Are you interested in seeing your work featured in an upcoming gallery? The themes for the week are published each Sunday. Photos can be submitted through Instagram (using the hashtag #PopPhotoOfTheDay), Flickr and through the (NEW) Facebook group. Learn more about joining this group by clicking here..
A beautiful flower
I can’t resist a bloom. While I certainly have my the game of favorites (peony season is too short, according to me) typically, any flower can be used. Robert Lalancette’s photo beautifully demonstrates what I’m usually missing–the middle as it’s often hidden by a layer of blooms. The detail is simply amazing It’s like there are thousands of tiny flowers inside the larger.
A friend for a while
Friends or foes? I don’t like spiders, however this cute man somehow wowed me by his adorableness, despite his looking towards me from four angles. The soft pink flowers definitely have helped to reduce the scary element.
“I was taking intimate abstracts of dahlias and the tiny spider leapt towards the top of a dahlia flower,” the the winner David Terao who took his photos using an Canon R5 and Zeiss 100mm Makro-planar lens at f/2. “It appeared to be looking at me for a short time before he became bored and returned to his dahlia.”
Life cycle
Chris Croteau’s image captured my attention by its melancholy poetry. “A one look is what it takes to shield this beautiful creature from the relentless blades of my lawnmowers,” he says. If you don’t think that’s poetry please tell me what is.
Sitting pretty
The insect made me laugh. Perhaps it’s the way that the eyes are positioned but this bug appears so disinterested. In spite of the jokes, the quality of both the wings and droplets of water is stunning.
“This is always one of my top choices,” shares photographer Mark Burgess. “It was awarded an honourable mention at the competition of our local club for cameras.”
Undersea adventure
Abstraction is definitely the goal for the sport, this image caught my attention. Are I looking at pipes? An aqueduct? A squishy sea creature? It turns out that none of the above.
“Although it’s an undersea experience, it wasn’t!” Robert Norris writes. The photo illustrates “details of the scallop shell dumped on the shore by a random gull who devoured the shell.”
Yellow Lily
As we’ve mentioned before flowers are the best most effective way to impress me. This cheerful lily from John Woodcock sure did that, and with a sprinkling of freckles.