An underwater snapshot of tadpoles apparently flying across a bright blue sky has received the 1st spot in the very first Royal Society Publishing photography contest, introduced to celebrate the power of photography to pass along science.
Bert Willaert, a scientist and photographer, captured the winning shot when he was snorkeling in a canal in his native Belgium.
Bert, who is an environmental adviser and a biologist of amphibian evolution, told that clear water is hard to come across in the part of Belgium where he lives, as a consequence of eutrophication. Algae grow from the nutrients washed down the drains in sewage and detergents, clouding the waters as well as choking other oxygen-dependent life. When he noticed these tadpoles in the crystal-clear canal he wanted to have the opportunity encounter from their perspective.
Continue reading →