macro by maryam عربي

Exploration trips · children's trips · photography workshopsLooking closer, together.

Alongside my own documentation of UAE biodiversity, I take people into the field and bring the small world to schools, communities and public spaces.

Photographic series

Macro documentation of UAE biodiversity

A growing photographic record of the insects, spiders and other small creatures that live across the UAE, from garden plants to desert scrub. Each image shows a species in its own habitat, at a scale the eye usually misses. This local documentation turns the country's biodiversity into a visual archive anyone can explore.

Field photographySpecies records
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Conehead mantis at night with raised forelegs, UAE wildlife macro photograph by Maryam AalaliPierid butterfly with pale green eyes on a grass seed head, macro photograph from the UAE by Maryam AalaliGreen lynx spider on dry flowers, spider macro photography from the UAE by Maryam Aalali

Photographic series

Documenting the beauty of bees

A close study of bees: honeybees at work on the comb and feeding, and solitary bees resting on a stem. The series shows the hairs, eyes, tongues and wings that make bees such capable pollinators.

HoneybeesSolitary bees
Bees & wasps in the gallery →
Solitary bee with green eyes resting on a stem, bee macro photograph from the UAE by Maryam AalaliHoneybee feeding with its tongue extended, close-up macro of bees in the UAE by Maryam AalaliHoneybee standing on the honeycomb, from Maryam Aalali's bee documentation series in the UAE

Guided experiences

Exploration trips

Small-group exploration trips where participants learn to find, observe and photograph tiny life. Day trips focus on habitat and patience; night trips use torches and diffused flash to meet the species that only appear after dark.

Day tripsNight tripsSmall groups
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Small group on a guided exploration trip through a UAE woodland at duskMaryam Aalali talking with a participant during an exploration trip in the UAE countrysideParticipants observing shrubs for insects on a guided exploration trip in the UAE

Education

Children's trips & workshops

Children's trips and educational workshops that introduce young explorers to the small world around them, with magnifying glasses, printed macro photographs and simple field observation. Older groups move on to the basics of photographing insects with care. The aim is curiosity, and respect for the creatures we usually overlook.

SchoolsFamiliesPhotography basics
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Children using magnifying glasses to explore a desert plant on a children's nature trip in the UAEMaryam Aalali crouching at ground level to photograph insects, documenting local UAE biodiversity

Exhibitions

Unseen beauty exhibitions

Macro prints displayed outdoors, in the same landscapes where the subjects were found. Visitors see the detail up close, then start looking for it in the plants around them.

Outdoor displaysFine prints
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Macro prints of a jumping spider displayed on wooden easels at an outdoor exhibition in the UAEMaryam Aalali with her macro photography prints at an outdoor exhibition in the UAEIridescent blue butterfly wing scales in macro, by Maryam Aalali

Bring it to you

Planning a trip, workshop or exhibition for your school, community or organisation?

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