Following unprecedented activity on the Indigenus blog and social media (Facebook and Twitter ), as well as critical judgement of the Nature India editorial and design teams, we are happy to announce the winners of the maiden Nature India photo contest. The photographs have been judged on their novelty, creativity and quality. They were also rated in part by the engagement each received from the online science-loving community.
And the winner of the Nature India photo contest is:
Dipankar Ghosh from Oakdale, Minnesota, USA with his captivating, globally-appealing and contextually-fitting image ‘Astronomy meets engineering’.
The two runners-up are:
Prasenjeet Yadav from Bangalore, Karnataka, India, for his artistic portrayal of the future of ‘Ecological sciences in India’, and
Rahul Dev Mukhopadhyay from Trivandrum, Kerala, India for weaving a compelling historical account into his picture ‘Let there be light’.
Congratulations to all the winners! Dipankar Ghosh’s image will grace the cover of one of Nature India‘s forthcoming publications. All winners will receive a copy of the Nature India Special Annual Volume and a bag of goodies from the Nature Publishing Group.
The other four finalists — Mahendra V. Mahagaonkar, Harsha Dilip Pednekar, Mahesh S. Chavadar and Aditya gave tough competition to the winners with equally brilliant stories and stunning visuals (click on their names to see their images and the stories behind them). We thank them for participating and congratulate them on the fight they put up. There will be more photo contests soon and we hope to see their beautiful images again — perhaps on top next time!
In July 2014, Nature India announced its first photo contest. The idea was to capture the resurgence of science in the world’s largest democracy. The theme for our inaugural photo competition was ‘Science & Technology in India’.
Nature India received close to 50 entries from across the world — we were overwhelmed with the quality and novelty of some of these entries. We were equally impressed with the way both amateur and professional photographers used the rich cultural backdrop of India to tell fascinating stories about the country’s science. Scientists and non-scientists came forward to capture the evolving science and technology scene in India, a country poised to be a global super power yet fighting issues of poverty, healthcare and education.
We leave you with the winning images and the stories behind them. Enjoy!
Winner: Dipankar Ghosh. Picture caption: Astronomy meets engineering.
{credit}Dipankar Ghosh{/credit}
Dipankar Ghosh
“This picture shows a wheel at the famous Konark Sun Temple (UNESCO World Heritage site) in Odisha, India. The massive chariot-shaped temple has twelve pairs of wheels symbolising the twelve months, each pair representing the dark and bright halves of the lunar period.
The structure was once held together by magnetic force (instead of the conventional brick or stone pillar based support). According to the Archaeological Survey of India, powerful magnets were used as part of the structure. This is an exemplary representation of ancient India’s achievements in science (astronomy) and engineering (civil/structural).” — Dipankar Ghosh
Runner-up #1: Prasenjeet Yadav. Photo caption: Ecological sciences in India.
{credit}Prasenjeet Yadav{/credit}
Prasenjeet Yadav
“India is mega diverse, both in terms of biodiversity and people. Unfortunately, the country is battling with environmental problems on many fronts like its dependence on natural resources, declining ecosystem services, effects of climate change and a biodiversity crisis.
In the past few decades, however, India has rapidly evolved in the field of ecological research. Today ecological science is one of the pillars of science in India. In this image a research fellow is measuring forest canopy cover and density near the Khecheopalri Lake in the north-eastern state of Sikkim.” — Prasanjeet Yadav
Runner-up #2: Rahul Dev Mukhopadhyay. Photo caption: Let there be light.
{credit}Rahul Dev Mukhopadhyay{/credit}
Rahul Dev Mukhopadhyay
“The chemistry of light has been a subject of investigation for many around the globe. But considering the major scientific and technological advances in the Indian subcontinent, a major contribution has come from the southernmost fringes of the country, where under the guidance of Prof. M. V. George a photochemistry research unit was initiated at the then RRL (CSIR), Thiruvananthapuram in the late 80s. This has now transformed into one of the leading centres working on organic photofunctional materials.
This picture taken at the Sree Padmanabha Swami Temple, Trivandrum, during the ‘Lakshadeepam’ festival seems to symbolise that southern brilliance of light research.” — Rahul Dev Mukhopadhyay
