The Macro Cosmos

As I viewed the scene in front of me on this damp, late autumn morning I was instantly taken. The worlds woven within the knots of grass stalks transported me to a macro cosmos that spun my mind and threaded jewelled thoughts between the many worlds that lay before me.

Simple things really — dew, stems and webs. But together they created a multiverse slung overnight from stalk to stalk by those eight-legged engineers who defy full understanding. Yep, the spiders had been busy again, as they are every day before dawn at this time of year. Today their architectural odysseys had been kissed by mist.

Every filament of silver gossamer was shot with planets, stars, suns and moons of dew creating systems of beauty that would evaporate with the rise of the sun.

Gazing across the universe spread at my feet I was spoilt for choice. Which galaxy should I catch first with my camera? A chase of sunlight hastened my decision as I dropped to my knees to see the full glory of these beads of light that bejewelled my world.

Working quickly I immersed in this macro Milky Way, ignorant of the wet that seeped into me, aware of the slow dissolve of these worlds before my eyes.

Swiftly I searched through my lens, holding my breath, gingerly positioning my tripod legs, catching the ephemeral orbits that connected everything to everything else in this everyday meadow.

All images taken by the author (Jason Smalley © 2021)