Real Ants in Fantasy Landscapes by Andrey Pavlov

Russian photographer Andrey Pavlov has created an incredible series of 80+ photos where real life ants areshot in fantasy landscapes he has created. Photograph by Andrey Pavlov.

Every summer Andrey moves to his cottage in the countryside where he lives close to an anthill of red forest ants. Fascinated by their colony and the way they work together so methodically and effectively, he noticed that they all follow a very specific path when they are working. Using his previous experience making theatre and stage props, Andrey decided to create miniature fantasy landscapes and place them on the worker ants’ trail to see how they would interact with his creations.

The results are spectacular, even seemingly impossible at times. Andrey’s macro photography skills really shine in this series and it’s a really playful and creative execution. When asked why he chose ants, Andrey replied, “..I chose ants because I respect them and their way of life. They care about their children and look after the elderly.” Now let's take a look at few example of his innovative macro photography...