And here’s announcing the final finalist — finalist number 15 — in the Nature India Photo Contest 2015:

Suvasini Ramaswamy, San Diego, California, USA

Photo caption: ‘Natural abstraction’

{credit}Suvasini Ramaswamy{/credit}

Suvasini Ramaswamy

Suvasini shot this picture at the Yellowstone National Park in the northwest region of the United States. She says: “Our mind sometimes seeks patterns in abstraction. This is an image of the world-renowned Grand Prismatic at the Yellowstone National Park where thermophilic bacteria lend brilliant colour to the steaming blue waters from the hot springs.”

Congratulations Suvasini on capturing the lovely abstract patterns and getting into the top 15 of the Nature India Photo Contest 2015!

We are done rolling out our final 15 for this year’s contest.

Nature India’s final decision to chose the winners will be primarily based on the novelty, creativity, quality and printability of the entries. Our design and editorial teams will also give some weight to the engagement and reception these entries receive here at the Indigenus blog, on Twitter and on Facebook. To give all finalists a fair chance, we will take into consideration the social media engagement of each picture only during the first seven days of its announcement.

So here’s packing up the contest for this year — stay tuned for the announcement of winners in the last week of November. The winner and two runners-up will receive a copy of the just released Nature India Special Annual Volume and a bag of goodies from the Nature Publishing Group.

Till then feel free to promote, share and like your favourite entries with the hashtag #NatureIndphoto.

We wish all our readers a Happy Diwali as we announce the finalist number 14 in the Nature India Photo Contest 2015: 

Gauravi Deshpande, Dresden, Germany

Photo caption: ‘Window to the soul’

{credit}Gauravi Deshpande{/credit}

Gauravi Deshpande

Gauravi took this picture of the zebrafish eye under a microscope at the Max Planck Institute of Cell biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.

Here’s her description of the picture: “Eyes are the window to the soul, as some say so aptly. They are also the window to knowledge. The picture here depicts the amazing pattern formed due to different cells in the eye that help us visualize.” 

Congratulations on getting into our longlist of 15 Gauravi!

In it’s second edition this year, the photo contest has received an overwhelming response — hundreds of entries from around the world. Conceived with the idea of appreciating the art in all things science, the theme for 2015 was ‘Patterns’ — geometric, natural, abstract, under the microscope, in/on the human body or in space.

As a run up to the final announcement, we will be rolling out the top 15 finalists of the photo competition (in no particular order of merit) over the next few days on the Indigenus blog as well as our social media platforms (Twitter and Facebook). The final results will be announced in November 2015.

Nature India’s final decision to chose the winner will be partly influenced by the engagement and reception he/she receives here at the Indigenus blog, on Twitter and on Facebook. To give all finalists a fair chance, we will take into consideration the social media engagement of each picture only during the first seven days of its announcement.

So watch out for our other finalists and feel free to promote, share and like your favourite entries with the hashtag #NatureIndphoto.

As we enter the Diwali festivities, here’s announcing finalist number 13 in the Nature India Photo Contest 2015:

Shraddha Nayak, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Photo caption: ‘Illuminating molecular cages within us’

{credit}Shraddha Nayak{/credit}

Shraddha Nayak

Shraddha shot this picture of her own oil painting on a Nikon D7000. The painting and eventually the photograph is an artiste’s impression of clathrin vesicles, which help in transport of cargo such as proteins between organelles inside our body.

She describes this picture thus: “I am very intrigued by the microscopic beauty within us.  This painting was inspired by electron microscopic images of clathrin vesicles. It illuminates the intricate triskelion structure of each clathrin subunit that congregate together to make an ordered cage-like vesicle. These pleasantly patterned vesicles frequently pinch off from the cell/plasma membrane to import substances into a cell.”

Congratulations Shraddha for choosing this unique theme and entering the top 15 of the Nature India Photo Contest 2015!

The theme this year was conceived with the idea of appreciating the art in all things science — geometric, natural, abstract, under the microscope, in/on the human body or in space.

Both amateurs and professional photographers, scientists and non-scientists have sent in entries shot on mobile cameras, point and shoot cameras to high-end DSLRs. Choosing the final three from across countries, landscapes, demographics and cultures will be a tough job for the Nature India design and editorial team.

As a run up to the final announcement of three winners, we are rolling out the top 15 finalists (in no particular order of merit) this fortnight on the Indigenus blog as well as our social media platforms (Twitter andFacebook). The final results will be announced within November 2015.

Nature India’s final decision to chose the winner will be partly influenced by the engagement and reception he/she receives here at the Indigenus blog, on Twitter and on Facebook. To give all finalists a fair chance, we will take into consideration the social media engagement of each picture only during the first seven days of its announcement.

So watch out for the rest of the finalists. Promote, share and like your favourite entries with the hashtag #NatureIndphoto.

Here’s announcing our finalist number 12 in the Nature India Photo Contest 2015:

Divyarajsinh V Jhala, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Photo caption: ‘Wishing lantern light trails’

{credit}Divyarajsinh V Jhala {/credit}

Divyarajsinh V Jhala

Divyarajsinh shot this picture showing light trails of wishing lanterns from the terrace of his home in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

“The kite flying festival or Makarsankranti is Ahmedabad’s most famous festival and in the last 2-3 years people have started launching small hot air balloons, also called ‘Wishing Lanterns’ in the evening,” Divyaraj says. “A huge number of balloons go up and make for a beautiful sight in the evening. I used the bulb mode in my Nikon DSLR for about 4 minutes to get these ‘trails’ of balloons. For me, the beauty of the photo is in its abstract pattern.”

Congratulations Divyaraj for the lovely trails and for getting into top 15 of the Nature India Photo Contest!

In it’s second edition this year, the photo contest has received an overwhelming response — hundreds of entries from around the world. Conceived with the idea of appreciating the art in all things science, the theme for 2015 was ‘Patterns’ — geometric, natural, abstract, under the microscope, in/on the human body or in space.

As a run up to the final announcement, we will be rolling out the top 15 finalists of the photo competition (in no particular order of merit) over the next few days on the Indigenus blog as well as our social media platforms (Twitter and Facebook). The final results will be announced in November 2015.

Nature India’s final decision to chose the winner will be partly influenced by the engagement and reception he/she receives here at the Indigenus blog, on Twitter and on Facebook. To give all finalists a fair chance, we will take into consideration the social media engagement of each picture only during the first seven days of its announcement.

So watch out for our other finalists and feel free to promote, share and like your favourite entries with the hashtag #NatureIndphoto.

Here’s rolling out the finalist number 11 in the Nature India Photo Contest 2015:

Subas Chandra Bishwal, New Delhi, India

Photo Caption: ‘Nature’s own patterns’

{credit}Subas Chandra Bishwal{/credit}

Subas Chandra Bishwal

Subas describes his picture with multiple patterns thus: “Natural and sexual selection are responsible for evolution of different patterns in living things. These patterns in different body parts of  living organisms serve several purposes like camouflage, sexual selection, mimicry and different kinds of signaling.”

Congratulations Subas for making it to top 15!

As we enter the last phase of selections for this year, here’s the finalist number 10 in the Nature India Photo Contest 2015:

Shiva Shankar Talloju, Hyderabad, India

Photo caption: ‘Eyes waiting to see’

{credit}Shiva Shankar Talloju{/credit}

Shiva Shankar Talloju

Shiva Shankar took this photo from under a glass table at the Artificial Eye Clinic in L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India. The photo shows human cornea, donated by families after a loved one has died, stored in a red liquid (the McCarey Kaufman medium) . 

Shiva Shankar says: “The donor cornea is sutured onto the blind patient by an eye surgeon who has expertise in performing cornea transplantations. The matrix of bottled human corneas seen here is the ‘product’ of an eye bank where the team of technicians and managers work together 24×7.”

Congratulations Shiva Shankar for spotting this unusual pattern and getting into the top 15!

In its second year, the Nature India Photo Contest received hundreds of entries from around the world. The theme for 2015 was ‘Patterns’, conceived with the idea of appreciating the art in all things science — geometric, natural, abstract, under the microscope, in/on the human body or in space.

The entries have been from amateur and professional photographers, scientists and non-scientists and shot on a variety of equipment, from mobile cameras to high-end DSLRs. All these elements have made the photo contest a great experience in looking at patterns across landscapes, demographics and cultures.

The Nature India editorial and design team has a tough job at hand — of choosing just three winners, whose entries will grace the cover page of one of our forthcoming print publications. The winner and two runners-up will receive a copy of the just released Nature India Special Annual Volume and a bag of goodies from the Nature Publishing Group.

As a run up to the final announcement, we are now rolling out the top 15 finalists (in no particular order of merit) this fortnight on the Indigenus blog as well as our social media platforms (Twitter and Facebook). The final results will be announced in November 2015.

Nature India’s final decision to chose the winner will be partly influenced by the engagement and reception he/she receives here at the Indigenus blog, on Twitter and on Facebook. To give all finalists a fair chance, we will take into consideration the social media engagement of each picture only during the first seven days of its announcement.

So watch out for our other finalists and feel free to promote, share and like your favourite entries with the hashtag #NatureIndphoto.

It’s time to announce the Nature India Photo Contest 2015 finalist number nine:

Subrat Kumar Barik, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Photo caption: ‘Bacteria or snowflakes’

{credit}Subrat Kumar Barik{/credit}

Subrat Kumar Barik

Here’s Subrat’s description of the picture: “Snowflakes are formed from water vapour that condense directly into ice inside of clouds. Patterns emerge as these crystals grow. The seed crystal itself forms on a tiny particle, like a speck of dust in the air, which serves as a base for ice growth. This picture is a microscopic image of bacterial drying pattern when we let them dry in a controlled condition. They form similar pattern as snowflakes. So is it a crystalisation process? Soon we will solve this mystery.”

Congratulations Subrat for a wonderful entry that made it to top 15!