Matt Cole's Image

Matt has often tried to photograph black garden ants milking black bean aphids in his garden.

It's a common enough sight, but showing ants in the act (stroking the aphids with their feelers to encourage them to excrete drops of honeydew) and creating a composition that works is another matter. 'The ants rarely stand still for more than a second or two and tend to clamber over each other and the aphids.' Here, though, an ant stands still as if guarding its clutch, its antennae gently stroking the aphids. Watching insect behaviour through a macro lens has transformed Matt's photographic ambitions. 'I used to take portraits,' he says, 'but now I'm obsessed with insects and their activities.'