Tiny Oasis

 

May 2020—a few months into the lockdown, with no real sense of the havoc that lay ahead for so many.

One evening, aimlessly wandering through the house, I found myself in the kitchen, hoping a snack might somehow ease the boredom. It was around 6 PM on a summer evening. The kitchen was dim, though outside, the last of the daylight lingered. That’s when I noticed them—a few tiny ants clustered around a single drop of water on the counter. The sight stopped me. Watching these creatures, all gathered around that minuscule oasis, I felt a strange fascination. How methodically they arranged themselves. I realized this was a perfect moment to capture in a macro image—a small world magnified.

Little did I know that this simple moment would lead to something unexpected—a shot that would later win an honorable mention in the International Photography Awards, in the category of macro photography.