Yuan Minghui
Nature in Close-Up
The secret world of wetlands
Foreword / 7
Preface / 9
The Highest Good is Like Water / 10
Natural Selection / 34
In Praise of Plants / 68
Season of Wind and Light / 100
Whisper and Nocturne / 128
Life Goes On / 152
Art and Emotion / 174
The Award-Winning Works / 208
Artistic Achievements / 222
Epilogue / 224
In Wuhan East Lake wetland after rain, the red duckweed floats on the surface of the pond, where wild lotus also grows.
Lotus leaves float on red duckweed; a drop of rain in a partially unfolded lotus leaf resembles an eye.
Rain is tears of sadness and joy.
A Tear in the Eye
A crab spider (Thomisus onustus) hides in the heart of the annual fleabane (Erigeron annuus).
They move laterally, very much like crabs, hence they are called ‘crab’ spiders.
They usually stay on a flower for a long time to hunt.
Small insects such as ants, flies and bees are their food.
Right Here Waiting
The surface of the pond in early spring is covered with a thin film of algae.
Occasionally, when red duckweed is growing, red and green are combined alternately.
Wuhan is a romantic city in spring.
East Lake wetland always has different colours and emotions.
Different Rhythms of Spring
On the grass beside the stream in Dabie Mountain, Hubei Province, a metal-coloured, broad-winged damselfly stops every three or four metres.
The broad-winged damselfly is very territorial. If they are resting on the ground and another male flies by, they will alight and drive the other damselfly away.
I wore a wetsuit and stood in the cold stream for more than two hours so that I could get close to them.
Feeling the slight pull of the breeze, a male broad-winged damselfly spreads its wings.
Its posture is noble and elegant, just like a mysterious flower swaying in the wind.
Breeze in the Stream
The summer of Wuhan East Lake wetland sees the arrival of a variety of plants and insects.
In the fields, purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is in full bloom, and a pair of little insects known in China as ‘lù é ( 鹿蛾 )’ (Amata sinensis) mate on a leaf of the Hong Kong orchid tree (Bauhinia x blakeana) on the edge of the field.
The leaf of the Hong Kong orchid tree looks like a green apple, and is a paradise for the moths.
The wilderness is all the more beautiful for the existence of these small creatures.
Green Apple Paradise
Nature in Close Up reveals flora and fauna like you’ve never seen them before. Awardwinning nature photographer Yuan Minghui showcases his extraordinary sensibility and original eye for the natural world through his stunning selection of photographs of the wetlands in Wuhan, China.
Each image surprises and thrills, rendering every object an artistic creation in its own right. Yuan Minghui’s ability to create beautiful and meaningful images from our surrounding environment is startling; from winding vines that look like treble clefs and floating aquatic plants with diamond droplets, to the unseen glimpses of insects and amphibians playing out their extraordinary lives.
Yuan Minghui sets out to give each and every object the beauty and dignity that he sees in ordinary human life, with the aim of emphasising the importance of our planet and how we need to give it the care and attention that it deserves.