Home Topics Science & Environment Best science photography of 2013

Best science photography of 2013

Fluid Mechanics, by Stuart Hirth, was highly commended in this year's Eureka Prize for Science Photography.

FINALISTS FOR THE EUREKA Prize for Science Photography have been announced for this year, and they are as captivating as ever.

The New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography is conducted by the Australian Museum and aims to collect the best images from Australians in the field of science.

This year’s highly commended entries include an emerging cicada in minute detail, the vibrant dynamism of splashing liquid, and a seemingly infinite blanket of spiderwebs stretching across New South Wales farmland.

Amazing pictures of science

Richard Wylie, whose photograph Fatherhood was named as one of three finalists in this year’s awards, says images are a powerful scientific communication tool, particularly in terms of conservation.

“I’ve been diving for over 22 years but it wasn’t until I had a camera in my hand that I’ve truly been able to let people know how beautiful and awe-inspiring I find the underwater world,” says Richard, whose image depicts a weedy seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) beneath a jetty in Victoria.

“Underwater photography is a very personal, almost zen-like experience, and I find that this usually develops into amazing interactions with the wildlife,” explains Richard. “I think that it’s these interactions that translate into interesting and arresting photos.”

SEE THE GALLERY OF SHORTLISTED IMAGES

RELATED STORIES

Read Next

‘Bunyip’ bird returns to restored Tasmanian wetlands

For the first time in more than 40 years, the distinctive booming call of the endangered Australasian bittern once again rings out across the waters of Tasmania’s Lagoon of Islands.

Indigenous rock art sites ‘chosen’ for vantage

Researchers have discovered internationally significant rock art sites in Arnhem Land were far from random and instead “chosen” for the critical vantage points they provided.

Fishing for answers in Menindee Lakes

A New South Wales-first oxygenation trial aims to address dissolved oxygen levels in the Darling River that have contributed to large-scale fish deaths in recent years.