Experience "The Beauty of Bugs" Beginning Friday

Steve Russell thinks bugs are beautiful.

So will you, once you see his close-up portraits of local insects and spiders set against backgrounds of brilliant flower petals and parts of plants. The Tacoma Nature Center's special exhibit of Russell's macro photography opens Friday night and runs through the end of May. You can meet him and see his amazing photos at an artist's reception 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., opening night at the Nature Center.

"I had been laid off from my 'real' job in 2009 and became a photographer in search of subjects last spring and summer," Russell said. "My foray into bugs started when I was trailing a red-tailed hawk in Ft. Steilacoom Park and I stumbled upon an ant hill. I came back with my macro lens and followed the ants to and up a nearby Oregon grape bush."

Then he started noticing other bugs, like dancing flies, a wasp hanging from a leaf, a stink bug, and a crab spider.

"Dramas began to play out," Russell recalled. "Ants attacking beetles. Spiders going after bees. I found myself in the midst of a miniature wildlife safari and was hooked. Day after day, I returned and then began branching out to other parks and my own back yard. A wonderful world had opened up to me, and I couldn't get enough of it."

The exhibit features 24 of his favorites, all taken locally during what he call his "Most Excellent Spring and Summer" of macro photography.

"I am not an entomologist," Russell said, "but the close-up images have sparked my interest, and I hope they will spark the awe and curiosity of others as well."

Note: The closure of part of the Nature Center for construction runs through Sunday, but it won't affect the reception and exhibit.