If you live on the East Coast and have been to the beach during the last week it's likely you would've seen many bluebottles. An extended period of easterly winds has blown swarms of the creatures ashore and they have infested the line ups and gathered ankle-deep on the high tide mark. Young Coffs Harbour photographer, Duncan Macfarlane, was curious enough to collect a few bluebottles and shoot them up close. Here's how he did it...

I had an idea in my head for months to shoot bluebottles in a studio environment. To do so I had to make a special macro studio for shooting them. The technical part of the project was simple in that it was a controlled environment to shoot in. Getting the bluebottles in there, however, proved to be much harder. I was stung on the chin, cheek, nose, both legs, knees and arms in the process of collecting and shooting. And I went though a box of latex gloves while handling them. The water I used filled with stinging cells and anywhere it dripped had the potential to sting me, even days later.//DUNCAN MACFARLANE

If anyone would like to purchase a print or canvas of Duncan's images please contact us at Swellnet.

To learn about bluebottles - what are they and where do they come from - and also find out what to do when stung read Bluebottles: The Scourge of Summer.