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!

Here’s the finalist number six in the Nature India Photo Contest 2015:

Subrata Bal, Rourkela, Odisha, India

Photo Caption: ‘Wooden Frames’

{credit}Subrata Bal{/credit}

Subrata Bal

Subrata shot this black and white frame while staying in a hotel in Kargil, Jammu and Kashmir. At a glance, the picture gives an illusion of a conical rooftop in the background when seen through the wooden planks in the foreground. The rather simple architecture gets another clever dimension when seen through this angle. He says this about the picture: “Most part of this hotel was made of wood. While sipping a cup of tea in the balcony, I saw the wooden pattern and a queue of white towels being dried on a string. I liked the frame and captured the moment.”

Congratulations Subrata and all the best for the final round!

The Nature India photo contest 2015 with the theme ‘Patterns’ has received a huge number of entries. The theme 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 and Facebook). 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.

Congratulations to finalist number five in the Nature India Photo Contest 2015:

Dhwani Jhala, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Photo Caption: ‘Desert Dreams’

{credit}Dhwani Jhala{/credit}

Dhwani clicked this picture on her cellphone but that does not take away from the appeal of her subject, which fits in just fine with our theme “Patterns”. She describes her picture thus:

Dhwani Jhala

“I was in Bharuch, Gujarat for work and was walking around the city when I saw this little flower shining in the middle of dry clay. I immediately pull out my phone and clicked it. I am not a professional photographer but the colours and patterns in this image appealed to me.”

Well done Dhwani and welcome to the top 15!

This year’s contest has received hundreds of entries from around the world. The theme ‘Patterns’ 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.

The entries have been from amateur and professional photographers, scientists and non-scientists and have been 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.

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 and Facebook). 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.

Watch this space for the rest of the finalists and feel free to promote, share and like your favourite entries with the hashtag #NatureIndphoto.

Announcing the Nature India photo contest 2015 finalist number three:

Kanika Bansal, New York, USA

Photo caption: “Half Filled with Light”

{credit}Kanika Bansal{/credit}

Kanika shared her thought behind this image:

Kanika Bansal

“2015 is the International Year of Light, designated by the United Nations to learn and appreciate optical phenomena. In this top shot of a glass of water, the structure of the glass container produces an interesting pattern when light is partly reflected and scattered by the walls and the liquid inside. Slight asymmetry in the picture reverses the effect of depth, giving the illusion of an elevated object.”

Congratulations Kanika for making it to 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 have been 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.

Festival time, and also that time of the year to roll out the finalists 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.

The quality and novelty of some of the entries this year has been exceptional. Amateur and professional photographers, scientists and non-scientists, mobile cameras to high-end DSLRs — everything seems to have come together in looking for patterns across landscapes, demographics and cultures.

The Nature India editorial and design team is sure having a tough time selecting just three winners, who stand a chance of seeing their entries 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 (which includes Collector’s issues of the first ever print copy of Nature from November 1869 and the first ever issue of Scientific American from August 1845, a beautiful NPG moleskine diary, a pen with a pen drive and some other keepsakes) from the Nature Publishing Group.

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.

So brace up as we announce the Nature India photo contest 2015 finalist number one:

Kumar MP, Bengaluru, India

Photo Caption: ‘Life wrapped in legs’

{credit}Kumar MP{/credit}

Kumar describes his picture thus:

Kumar MP

“As I spent my childhood in the Western Ghats of India, crawling creatures piqued my interest. I spent time playing with them and would be amused to see them coil as if holding their body with their legs to protect themselves. This picture showing the intricate pattern on a crawly’s body was taken at the Indian Institute of Science campus in Bengaluru, India.”

Congratulations Kumar for making it to the top 15!

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.