Stunning images reveal the tiny world of microscopic creatures
THESE stunning images reveal the world of tiny microscopic life that is invisible to the naked eye.
Biologist Ruben Duro Perez has spent his life capturing amazing photographs and film of tiny creatures.
The 51-year-old says he does not consider himself to be a scientist but more of a photographer.
Mr Perez, from Barcelona, Spain, has been recording microscopic life for more than 10 years, publishing his work in photography books and on television.
He said: "I do not consider myself as a scientist or a journalist, just a scientific populariser using video and photo to develop my work.
"Some people say I am a filmmaker and photographer. It's fine for me, but I think video and photography are only the means that allow me to access a greater number of people and to introduce them in the secrets of the natural world.
"Actually, my fascination with the microscopic world started when I was a child of 10 or 12 years old. My parents gave me a toy microscope, and started to catch flies, mosquitoes, and so on to see them under the objective.
"That toy microscope was like some miraculous thing because I could see things that I couldn't see without it.
"Many years later I could purchase a better microscope and that new one has been with me till now.
"Apart from the importance of microorganisms for the whole life on Earth, I think this microscopic world is stunningly beautiful.
"Colours, shapes and even activities of microorganisms are wonderful. Sometimes it is like I am travelling across an enchanted world.
"Every one has interesting characteristics by itself. The colours of the microscopic algae, the shapes of some microarthropods, the movement of amoeba and ciliates, the reproductive capacity of bacteria.
"To develop my work I use two basic instruments: the microscope and the camera.
"In that way the microscope acts as the objective of my cameras, and anything I put under the objective can be captured by the sensor of the cameras."