In pictures: ‘Unseen alien world’ of bugs captured

A self-taught photographer has been capturing the “alien world” of insects.

Lee Frost, from Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, said he liked taking the macro images “of what’s just around us”.

“As soon as I took my first photo I was just hooked,” he said.

“It’s just like an alien world, an unseen world that not many people see.”

He often shoots insects at night to catch them sleeping, he said.

In November, he was awarded overall winner of the macro category of the British Photography Awards for his image showing a cellar spider carrying her egg sacks.

Mr Frost, a butcher, had gone into his garage to find tools when he spotted it.

“Safe to say I ditched the tools and grabbed the camera and on the third day I went back in and I actually got the shot I wanted,” he explained.

Each photograph can be made up of 80 images stacked and edited together.

“I’ve taken multiple images of different focal planes and I’m using stacking software so you get one sharp overall image all in focus,” he explained.

He shares his images with thousands of followers on Facebook and Instagram.

His dad, Mark Frost, said his son was “absolutely dedicated” to the craft.

“I mean there’s not many people who would get up at 4am and go out taking photographs,” he added.