Even though macro photography is a broad field that attracts various photographers, I’ve lately had the feeling as if the focus is evermore shifting towards bigger image ratios. Competing for full-format portraits of increasingly smaller animals, the best and most prominent photographers of the genre appear to forget what it is that makes a photo actually good. It is neither the blow-up nor the stunning details that suck out pretty fast, but the story and interaction between the subject and its environment is what makes a photo memorable. Vadim Trunov‘s macros differ from those of many other genre representatives in exactly this respect. What distinguishes the 30 year old Russian macro photographer is his love for rain and backlight, and for multiple subjects within the image, that often look like neighbors doing small talk on their way to work. You get to see macro subjects in situations that make them appear almost human. Such as, for instance, a snail that is seemingly having a talk about the weather with a grasshopper, or snails getting acquainted with each other, or a snail giving a ladybug a piggy ride. 🙂
If at all, you want to find some flaws in Trunov’s pictures, it may be the bokeh, which shows conspicuous blur polygons and “onion rings”. If you don’t mind the bokeh too much, I recommend heading over to Trunov’s 500px page.