By Rosli Zakaria

The scorching heat reflected by the silica-heavy bris soil did not stop a couple from getting down on their bellies and knees to capture a subject so minute that it interest only the connoisseur of macro photography.

For Husni Che Ngah, 52 and wife Jazmah Abdullah, 51,  sharing the same passion bonds their love and taught them the challenges they have to go through toward achieving perfection.

They don’t talk much but they let their pictures tell the stories to the world and these pictures created a network among photography greats such as Mofeed Abu Shalwa from Saudi Arabia, Marianne Brouwer from the Netherlands, Al Habsi Yahya from Oman,  Frank Hendre of England, Bart d’Herde from Belgium and Angeli Ann Dinsay from the Philippines.

They even used Husni’s custom-made diffusers in their own macro photography endeavours, apart from spending a huge sum of money for the equipment.

The couple uses Canon 70D, Canon 80D, Canon 90D, Canon EOS R, Canon 5DSR, Sony A9, Sony A7ii, Sony A7iii and Sony A7iv while the lenses include Canon MP-E 65mm 1-5X F2.8 Macro, Canon EF 100mm F2.8L Macro IS USM and Canon EF-S 60mm F2.8 Macro USM.

Locally, their network include Jack K H Loo, Dome Nikong, and Fender Malaya.

Husni, especially, co-authored a book titled “Spiders – 100 Common Species in Penang” and also contributed to the publication of several books with Universiti Sains Malaysia titled “Royal Belum: The Hidden Treasure of Perak”, “Fungi, Insects and Spiders of Merbok”, “Pulau Rawa: Pearl of Johor” just to mention a few.

An ant-snatching assassin bug, Acanthaspis petax from the family of Reduviidae, carries prey carcasses on its back. Note: We will upload more macro photos taken by the couple on ApaKhabarTV FB page.

Jazimah Abdullah on the prowl for insects

The macro couple Husni Che Ngah (right) and wife Jazmah Abdullah

“Nature offers endless subjects and my favourites are tiny insects which details can only be captured using macro lenses.

“It’s always tricky to get these tiny insects to pose for the camera but with patience, the result is always satisfying,” said Husni whose wife is an expert on flora, including mushrooms and plants.

At their age, the couple from Teluk Pasu, looked fit and full of stamina when hiking to look for new subjects to add to their already massive collections.

They have no fear of leeches, snakes, scorpions or tarantulas or wild beasts, including tapirs, bears and tigers.

Husni can easily spot a tiny jumping spider, beetle and mites on a leaf or on the ground and will slowly pick it up using a leaf or branches to calm the insect before capturing its image.

Jazmah will always be by his side to support the action.

“We are both freelancers and we have to be absolutely perfect the first time because these tiny subjects may not be available the second time,” said Jazmah, who will spend hours with her husband just to get a perfect shot.

Their enthusiasm in macro photography was inspired by events captured by professional photographers for the famed National Geographic magazine.

“National Geographic picked up a few of our pictures but it’s our dream to etch our name as a long term contributor to the National Geographic magazine,” said Jazmah.

Already, this couple has a massive collection of more than 5,000 pictures in their archive, including insects, frogs, plants, flowers, sponges and mushrooms of which some could hardly be detected by the naked eye.

“Wouldn’t it be wonderful to expose these pictures in a display or exhibition so that the people can appreciate the beauty of our wildlife and nature?” added Husni.

I have seen them in action and I have learned some tips on engagements with subjects on macro level which produced some exciting results.

NOTE: Rosli Zakaria joined the New Straits Times in January, 1983, and was exposed to various units, namely general news, crime, features, politics and economic desk within 10 years. His vast experience led him to be entrusted to lead the Terengganu bureau as Staff Correspondent and later promoted as Bureau Chief at the same branch until 2009. He was appointed as Press Secretary Terengganu Menteri Besar until 2014, after which he returned to the Terengganu NST as bureau chief until retirement at 2018.

]