#001 – The Beginning by Matthew Cicanese

One summer afternoon, I decided to walk down the road from my house in Central Florida. I was unaware that I would see anything of interest but took my digital camera along just in case. In the meadow up the road from my house, I looked around for different flowers, fungi, and insects. I came upon a small daisy with red stems...

I HAD to investigate.

I got on my knees and peered into the sea of flowers with these odd, red stems. Then I realized it... the STEMS weren't red at all... what was on them was. An entire population of aphids coated every millimeter of plant stem on this little daisy flower in that meadow.

Looking closer, I watched a larger red dot weave through this aphid atmosphere. A ladybird beetle wandered from stem to stem, with a Goliath-like presence and a swift hunting speed. One by one, it would devour them – ALIVE. I was astonished.

The best part? I had just captured my very first macro image... the image that would start my lifelong path as an artist.