NOIRLab and the National Science Foundation's Gemini North telescope, located on Maunakea in Hawai'i, captured a mesmerizing photo of NGC 1514, nicknamed the Crystal Ball Nebula. It looks a lot different than the photo the James Webb Space Telescope captured last year, and frankly, unlike nearly any other space photo.
Blown wildly out of proportion in large format, the slime molds that British photographer Barry Webb captures seem atmospheric and sculptural. Stemonitis, for example, looks like dozens of thin pieces of wire with their ends coated in colored wax. But this fungi-like form is one of hundreds of kinds of slime mold, and it typically only reaches a height of about two centimeters at the most. Thanks to Webb’s macro photos, we glimpse a phenomenally beautiful world up-close that is otherwise virtually invisible.
Scientists have documented hundreds of these organisms, which aren’t actually related to plants, fungi, animals, or molds—despite the name. They comprise a unique group unto themselves, more closely related to amoebas. And new discoveries are being made all the time. From mottled gray bulbs that look like snow-covered trees to pink, coral-like tendrils, Webb chronicles a huge array of colors and shapes. He also consistently submits images to local and national botanical records so that researchers have access to high-resolution imagery.
Webb’s image of a species called Lamproderma scintillans, partly engulfed by a water droplet, won the Botanical Britain category of the British Wildlife Photography Awards. Several of his photos are on display in large format in the exhibition Mythos Wald at Gasometer Oberhausen in Germany, which continues through the end of the year. And in the U.K., see Webb’s awarded images in the 2026 International Garden Photographer of the Year exhibition at Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Find more on his Instagram.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Barry Webb Documents a Marvelous, Macro Array of Colorful Slime Molds appeared first on Colossal.
The MUUS Collection has acquired the Todd Webb archive, an American photographer whose images of postwar city life in New York City and Paris serve as visual time capsules to bygone eras. MUUS preserves, researches, and reveals works from the archives in its care.
Login