��˲�Ʊ

Skip to content

My Octopus Mother by Kat Zhou

Life

Stunningly intimate octopus image wins aquatic photography prize

Kat Zhou has won the Aquatic Life category in the 2025 BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition, while a shot of a death-defying leap by a lemur took the top prize

Regulars

Salt River Pima and Maricopa Indian Community/Suburb, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, 2011 photo(s) ?EdwardBurtynsky, courtesy Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York

Earth

Dramatic Edward Burtynsky image shows stark desert divide

Regulars

Pacific compass jellyfish (Chrysaora fuscescens) inside a plastic bag. The cultured jellyfish, along with a portion of the water in which they grew, are shipped in plastic bags (and insulating Styrofoam boxes) to various customers, including zoos, aquariums, and research institutions. Jellyfish Farm, Europe's largest jellyfish breeding facility, K??nzell, Germany.

Life

Inside Europe's largest jellyfish farm

Regulars

Ami Vitale - Pandamonium A panda keeper does a health check on the cub of giant panda Xi Mei at the Wolong Nature Reserve managed by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Sichuan province, China October 31, 2015. (Photo by Ami Vitale)

Environment

Powerful images capture the fragility and resilience of our planet

Regulars

Out of Africa champagne picnic experience. Masai Mara luxury safari. Kenya Kenya???s national parks and reserves offer tourists the chance to see wild animals in what remains of their natural habitat. In Masai Mara, tourists engage in colonial fantasies while re-enacting the romantic picnic scene in the film Out of Africa. Local Masaai tribesman are employed to provide picturesque authenticity to the experience. Earth???s wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 69% in the last 50 years; 90% of African elephants have been wiped out in the past century. Kenyan national parks provide a sanctuary, but the animals living within them are allowed to survive essentially for human entertainment and reassurance. These animals become, in effect, performers for paying tourists eager to see a nostalgic picture-book image of the natural world.

Environment

Captivating images expose a 'staged version' of nature

Regulars

Liquid Gold Anna Curran Department of Mathematics A lattice of bubbles inside a ring that has been dipped in soapy water. The bubbles hold their shape because of molecules in the dish soap called surfactants, which stabilise the interface. Surfactants are all around us - for example, they allow soap to break down dirt and bacteria, and they are given to premature babies to help them inflate their lungs. Conversely, they threaten the efficacy of various industrial applications such as self-cleaning surfaces and laptop cooling systems. My research focuses on mathematically modelling the effect of these molecules at a f luid interface, in order to gain a greater understanding of how to control their behaviour in these applications.

Physics

Photography contest spotlights the beauty of science in vivid detail

Regulars

19719.9.22 Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California 2022 MITCH EPSTEIN. AMERICAN NATURE

Life

Images capture the timeless beauty of America's ancient forests

Regulars

Will Burrard-Lucas Forest elephant

Life

Camera trap spots endangered elephant mother and calf on the move

Regulars

Smiling-Damselfly-?Benjamin_Salb This is a stacked image of a damselfly I encountered on an early morning macro outing this spring. The expression of the damselfly is remarkable, and the large pseudopupil area gives it an almost cartoonish quality. This is my favorite damselfly capture to date.

Life

Incredible close-up images of insects scoop photo contest honours

Regulars

A natural ice cave formed by glacial retreat, at the edge of a moraine.

Environment

Chilling images reveal melting ice worlds

Winning images from the 2025 Walk of Water photo competition showcase vanishing frozen landscapes, from sparkling ice caves to melting glaciers

Regulars

Life

Fancy pigeons flaunt their feathers in this striking photo series

Regulars

Health

The most iconic images taken during the covid-19 pandemic

News

Earth

Remarkable images capture the diversity of Earth's ice formations

Regulars

Space

The best space images from 2024

News