The Photographer who Captures the Expressions of Tiny Animals

There are close-up images, and then there are the ones taken by Muhammad Roem, an amateur Indonesian photographer.

From dancing frogs to cheeky geckos, there is little that escapes 28-year-old Mr Roem’s camera.

The full-time nurse started photography only three years ago as a part time hobby.

Now the Batam-based photographer spends whatever free time he has chasing down his subjects in the wild.

“I follow the insects in order to capture exact expressions. Sometimes from more than a dozen photos there will only be one photo with a good expression. Other days I don’t get anything,” he tells the BBC.

Image captionSome of Mr Roem’s photos literally look out of this world

Many people don’t know or see much into specific parts of an animal,” Mr Roem says. “I try to showcase one specific part, for example if you look at their eyes- it’s awesome.”

Image captionBlink once and you’ll miss it – as with this close-up of an iguana’s eye

Image captionMr Roem is clearly a fan of frogs

Image captionHe typically uses a 100mm macro lens, but an MP E 65mm when he goes for an extreme close-up shot

Image captionAmazing detail seen on a Red and Black Mason Wasp

Image captionYou can almost feel the raindrops in this shot of a dragonfly

“I first started learning photography by myself, then later started getting feedback from a teacher,” Mr Roem says. “I mostly go around Batam taking photos, but when I have free time I try to travel around Indonesia.”

His busy work life means he has little time to take photographs, but when he does he spends up to a week editing a single shot.

“I take around one full day to take one photograph,” he says. “But up to a week to finish the photograph, including editing and processing.”

Courtesy : BBC