“Hey! I'm Thomas Shahan, an artist and macrophotographer from Oklahoma. In my spare time over the past few years, I've been shooting portraiture of local arthropods. Why would I devote countless hours to tramping through forests, fields and the like searching for insects and spiders? Well, despite some common beliefs, arthropods (members of the phylum Arthropoda – insects, spiders, crustaceans...) represent an endlessly varied, wildly beautiful and fascinating bunch of animals with surprisingly personable faces and behavior. Often, all it takes is simply inspecting their lives on a closer level to turn repulsion to reverence”. – Thomas Shahan

Photo: Adult Male Jumping Spider at Sunset – Phidippus mystaceus. (Photo by Thomas Shahan; Source: Flickr)

Hope Solo of the USA looks dejected after losing 3-5 after penalty shoot-out the FIFA Women's World Cup Final match between Japan and USA at the FIFA World Cup stadium Frankfurt on July 17, 2011 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)

A competitor participates at the World Pole Dancing Championship 2012 held at the Volkshaus on November 10, 2012 in Zurich, Switzerland. The public's perception of pole dancing has recently changed to become a popular sport combining physical strength, technique and choreography. (Photo by Harold Cunningham)

A staff member removes a coffin from a room of the “Corpse Hotel” in Kawasaki, Japan, April 20, 2016. Many so-called corpse hotels have emerged as a flourishing business in the city following a crunch in crematoriums. Families can rent a room in Sousou on a daily charge of 9,000 Japanese yen (£58, €74, $84) to keep the body of the deceased relative for up to four days until they find a crematorium. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

A member of Alfama's group is seen before going to the Saint Anthony's Parade in Lisbon, Portugal June 12, 2016. (Photo by Rafael Marchante/Reuters)

A woman adjusts the Mantle of the Order of the British Empire at an exhibition at Buckingham Palace in London, Thursday, July 21, 2016. In celebration of Her Majesty's 90th birthday this year, visitors to the Summer Opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace will enjoy an unprecedented display of The Queen's outfits, from childhood to the present day, in the special exhibition Fashioning a Reign: 90 Years of Style from The Queen's Wardrobe. (Photo by Frank Augstein/AP Photo)

A Thai man climbs down from his home in a disused airplane on September 12, 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand. 3 impoverished Thai families have begun living in disused airplanes on a private field. The families, who collect and recycle garbage earning a few dollars a day, can't afford to rent and prefer to stay in the planes. (Photo by Taylor Weidman/Getty Images)

Young stag deer clash antlers during the annual rut in Richmond Park in west London, Britain, October 16, 2015. The Royal Park has had Red and Fallow deer present since 1529, and early autumn sees the rutting or breeding season begin amongst the herd of over six hundred animals. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)