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Capturing and shooting science – with your lens

The overall winner of the 2009 Science Lens Competition was Camilla Floros, whose macro shot shows the mouth of a coral polyp surrounded by tentacles. “Corals are actually animals and not plants as many people think,” says Floros. “They have tiny algae cells that live in their tissue called zooxanthellae and they provide nutrients to the corals. Despite the tiny size of individual corals, they are the building blocks of coral reefs and are responsible for building the largest living structure on earth, the Great Barrier Reef. They are unfortunately under threat due to global climate change. This coral is one of many being grown in a research aquarium with the aim of cultivating corals in aquaria to reduce the pressure of collecting colonies from the wild and disturbing the coral reefs.”

Photographers have once again risen to the science challenge by entering their best work into this year’s Southern African Science Lens, a photographic competition to celebrate science. The competition, presented by SAASTA, has been running since 2002 and aims to illustrate and communicating beauty, excitement and impact of science

The Competition, which kicked off in July, is open to all who are enthusiastic about science, including professional and amateur photographers and scientists, as well as researchers.

Canon SA has sponsored the prizes for the winners of each of the four categories. The first prize is a Canon EOS 500D Digital SLR camera with a twin lens kit (18-55mm and 55-250mm image stabilizer lens). Runners up will receive cash prizes, and special cash prizes will also be awarded to the best entries reflecting nanotechnology, biotechnology, hydrogen and fuel cell technology, and space science.

The four categories are:

1. SCIENCE IN ACTION: Capturing science as it happens either in the natural world or in the workplace of scientists, doctors and researchers. It excludes nature photography that does not depict a specific event of scientific importance.

2. SCIENCE CLOSE-UP: Images revealing aspects of science that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Photos can be taken with macro lenses or by using techniques such as microscopy, x-ray, satellite or astronomical photography, magnetic resonance imaging, etc.

3. SCIENCE AS ART: Capturing images that illustrate the beauty of science or show natural subjects in abstract ways. Images should be able to stand alone as a work of art and are judged on their aesthetic values only.

4. INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF CHEMISTRY: 2011 is the International Year of Chemistry. In honour of this, this is a special category for the celebration of chemistry in all its forms and applications.

Keep an eye on future issues of GetS.E.Tgo! for competition results.

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