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Stunning Images of Insects Covered in Dew

Sometimes, it takes a keen eye to spot beauty that the rest of us may not see.

French photographer Pierre-David Chambon captures seemingly jewel-encrusted dragonflies, rainbow-hued beetles—even bees, whose buggy eyes are transformed into stunning works of art. And it’s all with the help of one crucial ingredient: morning dew.

Early in the morning near his home in Eastern France, Chambone tromps to a local nature reserve near a pond armed with a Canon 1D Mark III and two macro lenses in search of the perfect subject. His favorites are dragonflies and damselflies, but any insect can be transformed by the dewy early morning landscape.

“In the summer I leave my house around 5 a.m.,” says Chambone “I find that the light is magnificent at this time of day.”

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Chambon’s images themselves are magnificent: Not only are the illusions of jewels that the dew creates gorgeous, but somehow, the droplets seem to make the insects’ natural colors and fine details pop. Whether or not you’ve paused to appreciate the beauty of spindly-legged or winged creatures, the photographs are a stunning affront our perception of insects as being icky or scary. As to whether or not Chambon ever feels threatened by his subjects?

“I've been stung once or twice,” he says, “But in general I leave the insects alone and everything is fine.”

Though dew makes the images, weather can also have a big impact on Chambord’s photos. He prefers to shoot in the summer months, before morning dew turns to frost. Summer rain isn’t a problem, but wind is. Macro photography is all about stillness, and a gusty day can ruin a shoot.

“The most important thing is that it isn't windy,” says Chambon, “The wind is the sworn enemy of macro photography.

As summer comes to a close, so does Chambon’s season to shoot his prize macro insects, but it’s a project he says he’ll definitely return to. He plans an exhibition of his images in February, but in the meantime?

“The next stage for me is to await next summer with impatience,” he says. "I can’t wait!”