Wee beasties: Incredible macro photographs of Scots insects

IT WAS in an unassuming park in Glasgow during lockdown that David Hamilton tried out macro photography for the first time. 

The photographs are typically close-ups of bugs and flowers, and David found Ruchill Park was the perfect place to snap some tiny, colourful creepy-crawlies.

David was blown away by what he found in this hidden world and some were so exotic they looked like they belonged in the jungle.

‘As soon as I started doing it that was me pretty much hooked,’ David said.

‘I’d never seen these kind of details of insects before, or their personalities, and never knew the variety that you could actually get.

‘I was out everyday in the park looking for new subjects and it snowballed from there.’ 

David has photographed around 1,000 different species of insects around Scotland and now runs the popular Instagram page WeeMadBeasties, showcasing macro photography.

His incredible pictures have captured the attention of people all over the world who are shocked by what David has discovered in Scotland.

‘I would look at other photographers, most of them lived in the tropics, and they’ve got really exciting, vibrant insects to shoot,’ he said. 

‘I wanted to try and shoot that style and thought can I make what we have in Scotland look like that.

‘People are always so shocked to see what there is in Scotland, they can’t believe these insects can be found on their doorstep in local parks.’

David has captured pictures of some rare insects in Scotland said loves trying to photograph their personalities.

But they don’t always make the easiest of subjects.

‘I do try and find something new if I can but it is getting harder,’ David said.

‘This year, there’s been a massive decline in the insect population especially flying ones, which make it quite hard.’ 

David has travelled to Malaysia to photograph insects and hope to go to Australia next.

Read more on Scottish Field’s Outdoors pages. 

Plus, don’t miss the September issue of Scottish Field magazine.