Mastodawn

'Tis the Season # 5. The Holly and the Ivy. #holly #hollyleaves #ivy #naturefocus #greenfoliage #moodynature #forestmagic #planttexture #evergreen #woodland #leafy #shiny #botanical #depthoffield #naturecloseup #smartphonephotography #photography

Maikel de Bakker Nov 16

A 1mm mushroom carrying an almost-as-big droplet

Sometimes nature hides its most extraordinary scenes in places most people never look. While walking through the Kampina near Oisterwijk with my wife Christel and my sister-in-law Hanneke — a birthday walk and lunch gift from last October — I noticed something no taller than a grain of rice. There, growing out of the lush green moss on a tree trunk, stood a tiny Mycena adscendens. Barely 1 mm tall, delicate as a whisper… and balancing a raindrop almost as large as its cap.

Photographing something that small is always a technical puzzle. Tripods were impossible on the tree bark, the light was miserable — wet, grey, and sleepy — and the mushroom itself looked like shiny plastic thanks to the moisture. So I relied on my Canon 5DsR paired with the MP-E 65mm, shooting handheld with a flashlight as an improvised lightsource.
1/250s, ISO 3200, and the fixed aperture of the MP-E — a setup that pushes both the photographer and the camera to their limits. At this magnification even your own heartbeat becomes camera shake.

But somehow, everything aligned. The droplet clung to the cap with perfect surface tension, turning the whole scene into a tiny physics lesson: cohesion, adhesion, and gravity negotiating their delicate balance on a 1 mm stage.

Moments like this remind me why I love macro photography — you don’t just take a picture; you discover a world that was already there, quietly waiting.

#MacroPhotography #MicroNature #TinyMushrooms #MycenaAdscendens #FungiFriday #FungusAmongUs #NatureCloseUp #ExtremeMacro #MacroWorld #MacroMagic #Canon5DsR #CanonMacro #MPE65mm #HandheldMacro #NatureIsArt #ForestFinds #DutchNature #Kampina #Oisterwijk #MossAndMushrooms #RaindropArt #WaterDroplet #SurfaceTension #MicroWildlife #NatureWalks #PhotographyJourney #StoryBehindTheShot #NaturalWonder #TinyLifeBigWorld #ForestMagic #NatureLovers #ScienceInNature #PhotographersOfPixelfed #MacroCommunity #HiddenWorlds #ByMaikeldeBakker

Salim Nov 4

Among fallen leaves and chestnut husks, a beetle glimmers like a hidden gem, a quiet pulse of life beneath autumn’s fading breath.

#AutumnDetails #ForestLife #TinyWorld #NatureCloseUp #BeetleBeauty #WoodlandFloor #HiddenNature #AutumnMood

Ralf Wentz Nov 3

All the small things...

#insectphotography #macroshot #naturecloseup #beetlesofpixelfed #wildlifeart #naturefocus #macroinsect #microcosmos #greenbackground #nikon

Smartphone Photographer Oct 28

Fungus Amongus. #mushroomphotography #fungiofinstagram #mycology #naturecloseup #forestfloor #naturephotography #forestfinds #golden #textured #wildlifephotography #earthfocus #smartphonephotography #photography

Christina Görkes Oct 16

I can buy myself flowers. Or at least try to capture their uniqueness and let them be(e). 🌸🌺🌼

Sometimes photography and paying attention to the little things around me is all I need to disconnect and calm down.

#naturecloseup #landscapephotography #busybee #macrophotographylove #macrophotography #landschaftsfotografie #focus #panasonic #canon #naturephotography #travelphotography #naturliebe #cinematicvibes #kreativefotografie #storytellingphotography #fineartphotography #authenticphotography #moodygrams #photooftheday #landscape #selftaughtphotographer #photography #photographyenthusiast #blumenfotografie #flowersinframe_

Ralf Wentz Oct 15

Shellbound Traveler

#snail #macrophoto #wildlifephotography #naturecloseup #slowandsteady #helixpomatia #shelllife #earthcreature #macroshot #tinyworld

Maikel de Bakker Oct 13

Close encounter with a forest master beetle

Meet Trypocopris vernalis, also known as the spring dor beetle — one of the true “masters” of the forest floor. Yesterday, while exploring a beautiful larch and pine forest near Rijen and Oosterhout (the Surea area) with my wife, I spotted this little armored worker quietly making its way through the moss. The day was grey and moody, but a brief ray of sunlight broke through — just enough to bring out that deep black sheen that makes these beetles so mesmerizing up close.

This shot was taken with my Canon 7D Mark II and the Canon MP-E 65mm super macro lens at 5× magnification — a lens that truly lets you dive into another world. At this distance, even a beetle’s face feels monumental. You can see the fine texture of its exoskeleton, this time no grains of forest soil clinging to it, and even the subtle reflection of the forest canopy above.

Scientifically speaking, Trypocopris vernalis plays a vital role in the ecosystem. It’s a dung beetle — recycling nutrients, aerating soil, and quite literally keeping the forest clean. A quiet little hero beneath our feet.

#TrypocoprisVernalis #BeetlePhotography #MacroPhotography #SuperMacro #Canon7DMarkII #CanonMPE65mm #ForestMaster #MacroWorld #WildlifeMacro #NaturePhotography #ByMaikelPhotography #DutchNature #Oosterhout #Rijen #Surea #MossForest #LarchForest #InsectPhotography #MacroDetails #CloseUpPhotography #WildlifeLovers #EcoPhotography #Biodiversity #DungBeetle #NatureStory #InsectWorld #MicroWorld #CanonMacro #NaturalBalance #WildlifeConservation #InTheForest #MacroArt #NatureCloseUp #PhotoStory #NatureLovers #FieldPhotography #MacroMagic #WildlifeMacroPhotography #CanonEurope #ForestEcosystem #TinyWorld