Photographer Jason Isley does a lot of underwater photography, but recently found himself running out of ways to make the “common macro life” interesting. His answer was to include plastic miniatures of humans and equipment in the shots, resulting in a set of photos which have a wonderful “50s B-movie” feel to them. The arrangements very cleverly integrate the figures into the fishy action. (You can buy prints here.)

This is a splendid idea, not only as a way to add a unique twist to nature photography, but also as aquarium/vivarium decorations. You’d need to make sure that the figures you used weren’t made of any material that might be toxic to fish, but a burned-out cityscape terrorized by giant hermit crabs or innocent beachgoers being menaced by the Plecostomus of Doom would be way more interesting than a plain ol’ treasure chest.

(via BoingBoing)