Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition 2019

In early 2019 we asked scientists from across the world to send in their images in the categories of: Astronomy, Behaviour, Earth Science & Climatology, Ecology & Environmental Science, and Micro-imaging.
Hundreds of images were submitted, and our judges narrowed these down to our final shortlist which you can now see here…

OVERALL WINNER

Alexs Labuda

Quantum Droplets

'This photograph represents experimental proof of the theoretical work in the field of hydrodynamic quantum analogs. These silicone oil droplets are bouncing indefinitely above a vibrating pool of silicone oil at 15 Hz. The surface waves generated by the droplets are analogous to quantum mechanical waves that guide the dynamics of quantum particles. While the droplets *move* like quantum particles, they *behave* like quantum waves. The droplets' wave fields mediate their interactions with their surroundings, with each other, and even with themselves - similarly to electrons in the double-slit experiment. Such bouncing droplets were discovered in 2005 by Yves Couder (Université Paris Diderot) and mark the first real-world demonstration of the pilot-wave theory postulated by de Broglie in 1927. This behaviour provides measurable and intuitive insight into the mystery of particle-wave duality.'

Runner-up

Aleks Labuda

Magnetostatic Spawn

'Ferrofluids are colloidal liquids made of nanoscale ferromagnetic particles suspended in a carrier fluid. Surfactants in the fluid prevent the agglomeration of the nanoparticles because their strong van der Waals forces exceed the particles' weak magnetic attraction. Reducing the size of the magnetite (or hematite) nanoparticles to below 10 nm is key in preventing their precipitation from the carrier fluid. At such length scales, Brownian motion ensures their indefinite suspension under normal conditions. This photograph demonstrates the magnetic properties of this liquid as it shape shifts under the magnetic field setup by two carefully positioned rare-earth disc magnets. One magnet lies below a silicon wafer, while the other hangs from above. the protruding cones are a result of the compromise between the minimization of magnetic energy versus the minimization of surface free energy.'

Honourable mention

Anne Weston

Completely stitched up

'This is a scanning electron micrograph of surgical thread used to stitch a head wound. The surgical thread was removed from the human patient after seven days, and debris from the skin and the area surrounding the wound can be seen still attached to the thread after removal. What this image shows in great detail is the skill required by healthcare professionals in being able to accurately tie such an intricate knot with a piece of thread less than 0.25mm in diameter, in what is a "routine procedure". Brightness and contrast of background altered and image cropped to remove imaging status bar. The image was captured using an FEI Quanta scanning electron microscope.'

Category winner

Halo

Mikhail Kapychka

'Lunar halo over the night forest lake, Mogilev,Belarus. I suddenly saw an unusual lunar halo in the night sky and hurried outside the city into the forest to take a picture of it. A halo appears in the sky when several factors are combined. Often it is observed in frosty weather in conditions of high humidity. In the air at the same time there is a large number of ice crystals. Passing through them, the lunar or solar light is refracted in a special way, forming an arc around the moon or sun.'

Runner-up

Taranaki Stars

James Orr

'This is an image of the Milky Way and the two Magellanic Clouds above Mount Taranki, a 2500m active stratovolcano, on New Zealand's North Island. The two Magellanic Clouds are dwarf galaxies over 150,000 light years away that can only be seen in the Southern Hemisphere's night sky. After a tough hike up to this viewpoint, we spent a good eight hours watching the clouds thin, the sun set and the Milky Way appear. By midnight, the sky was full of stars but a sliver of moon was just bright enough to light up the incredible landscape in front of us. Just before we started the hike back down, I took this vertical panorama made up of four 25-second exposures. They were stitched together during post-processing.'

Honourable mention

Equinox Supermoon Over the Coast Range

Loren Merrill

'A supermoon rises over the British Columbia Coast Range on the spring equinox this year (2019). The last time a supermoon coincided this closely with the spring equinox was 1905, and the next one won't be until 2144, so this celestial event was a real "once in a lifetime" moment. I photographed the moonrise from Quadra Island, British Columbia, Canada, looking out across the Georgia Strait.'

Category winner

Daniel Field

Mudskipper Turf War

'Bluespotted mudskippers (Boleophthalmus caeruleomaculatus), are amphibious fish common in mangrove habitats of Southeast Asia. Males are extremely territorial, engaging in frequent skirmishes with their neighbours. Such skirmishes may lead to dramatic facial expressions like those seen here. While photographing wading birds in the famous Mai Po wetlands, Hong Kong, I was distracted by the mesmerizing territorial displays of hundreds of mudskippers near the shore. Adjacent individuals would frequently engage in brief skirmishes, allowing me to select the optimal angle for illustrating their aggressive interactions.'

Runner-up

Eduardo Sampaio

Jelly-Fish association

'Jellyfish-fish associations happen for a multitude of reasons. However, in this case, it is the simplest one: predation. A young blue (a.k.a. banded) trevally (Carangoides ferdau) feeds on the purple jellyfish (Thysanostoma loriferum), and guards it against others that may have the same idea. Given the length and thickness of these tentacles, together with the fact that jellyfish can regenerate its cells at a considerable speed, this interaction can be sustained for several days. When jellyfish are large, they can also be used as shelter by fish.'

Honourable mention

Alwin Hardenbol

Fight Club

'Northern Nutcrackers (Nucifraga caryocatactes) often fight over food in the winter, as I saw while on the Vitosha mountain massif, Bulgaria. This could be explained by their typical behaviour of storing food in caches during wintertime. This caching of food is essential to their survival and their breeding strategy, because they usually start the breeding process when there is still snow on the ground. It could, therefore, be worth fighting over the available food to have a better breeding success. As the Nutcrackers were fighting quite frequently, I adjusted my shutter speed to freeze the motion and zoomed out so as not to clip the wings from the frame. I also overexposed the image in-camera considerably for artistic reasons.'

Category winner

Lauren Marchant

Twister in the Yukon

'This photo was taken near to Kluane Lake Research Station in the Yukon, Canada. It depicts a large, cone-shaped, funnel cloud. A funnel cloud forms when water droplets are drawn in from the surrounding area by a rotating column of wind, making a region of intense low pressure visible to the human eye. Most tornados begin as funnel clouds. However, this funnel cloud never made contact with the ground and therefore could not be classified as a tornado.'

Honourable mention

Tom Shlesinger

Fizzy Sea

'Coral reefs are among the most diverse and productive ecosystems on our planet. However, pollution, over-fishing and the release of gases into the atmosphere are causing acidification and warming of the oceans to levels that corals are no longer able to tolerate. This photo was taken while on a scientific expedition to Ambitle Island, Papua New Guinea, as part of the Coral Reef Acclimatization to Ocean Acidification (CARIOCA) project. Volcanic carbon dioxide can be seen fizzling from the seafloor alongside diverse and healthy coral reefs. These underwater volcanic seeps add heated water with high concentrations of carbon dioxide that results in temperature and acidity levels similar to those expected at the end of the century, and commonly regarded as too extreme for corals' survival. This site offers a unique and authentic 'natural laboratory' for the study of the effects of climate change (ocean acidification and global warming) on coral reefs. Despite having acidity levels that are commonly regarded as too extreme for corals to even build their calcareous skeletons, the reefs in this area are surprisingly thriving.'

Honourable mention

Cándido R. Vicente Calle

Mammatus on Fire

'This photograph was taken after a summer sunset when these clouds (Cumulonimbus mammatus) quickly formed in Jackson, Wyoming, USA. Mammatus clouds are special structures that are formed by downward vertical currents, which collide with other warm air rising. This collision gives rise to the characteristic bumps at their base as a result, and giving it its name from the Latin word "mamma". These clouds are usually formed in hot weather and are byproducts of intense storms located on its periphery. The light at sunset highlights the special shape of these striking cloud formations.'

Honourable mention

James D.P. Moore

The Child of Krakatoa Awakes

'This photo shows Anak Krakatau at the start of its eruptive phase in August 2018, taken whilst on vacation. This Strombolian eruptive style is building up the flanks of the central cone, out of unconsolidated tephra, with little real strength. Eventually, this constructive phase culminated with the collapse of the southwestern flank (to the left in this image). The water displaced by this slope's failure generated a devastating tsunami with no warning, and claimed more than four hundred lives on 22nd December 2018.'

Category winner

Morgan Bennett-Smith

Fade to White

'A juvenile Red Sea clownfish (Amphiprion bicinctus) looks out from between the clear tentacles of a bleaching sea anemone (Entacmea quadricolor) in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Coral reef bleaching events impact entire ecological communities, not just coral species. When sea temperatures reach intolerable levels, many anthozoan species expel their symbiotic algal partners (zooxanthellae—symbiodiniaceae), which typically results in colour loss and high mortality. While reef-building corals may be the most direct victims of such events, other species can be similarly affected. Some sea anemones, for example, also expel their colorful symbionts during periods of climactic stress. In the central Red Sea, some of our work in the Reef Ecology Lab focuses on the impacts of anemone bleaching on clownfish-anemone dynamics. As bleaching events continue to increase in frequency and intensity, sea anemones, and their clownfish tenants, may feel the heat.'

Runner-up

Abhijeet Bayani

A Vigilant Soldier

'Ropalidia marginata is a primitively eusocial wasp found in southern India. Their nests are built in concealed places as they do not seem to have evolved any active safeguard against their deadliest predator Vespa tropica. Having vigilant females on their nests can only alarm other nestmates but they do not impede Vespa from foraging on their brood. I found this out when I took this picture inside a tubelight panel and was stung by several vigilant soldiers.'

Honourable mention

Daniela Rapavá

Abstract water gallery

'In the Ľuboreč water reservoir in Slovakia, I came across blooming water lilies (Nymphoides peltata). Their long stems were rotting, and a white coating formed and spread across the lake. The coating is formed by microscopic algae and cyanobacteria, and contains green, blue and red plant colours. The increased incidence of natural pollution there is related to higher temperatures and low water levels. Where others may only see the pollution, the amazing beauty of this world was in fact created by nature through diffusion and flow. Nature adapts though, as after 2 weeks, the water had cleaned itself up.'