The DNRF Photo Competition 2024

Epiphany, Amazon
Photo: Christian Vium, Associate Professor in Anthropology, Aarhus University.

Six points on a blackboard
Photo: Nathalie Wahl, DNRF Center GeoTop, University of Copenhagen.

The digestive system of dairy cows
Photo: Giulio Giagnoni, Animal Science, Aarhus University.

Bio-based liquid crystalline polyesters under microscope
Photo: Matina Terzi, Danish Polymer Centre, DTU.

Sleeping beauties in the seabed
Photo: Peter Stief, DNRF Center HADAL, Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark.

Fernbed
Photo: Maja Theodoraki, Museum Midtjylland

Tiny Titans 3D Journey
Photo: Josef Lavický, Alena Salašová. Developmental neurobiology. PROMEMO, Aarhus University.

When Science Fails, Art Prevails
Photo: Hanna Salamon, DNRF Center Hy-Q, Quantum Photonics , University of Copenhagen.

Exploring the Secrets to a Healthy Gut
Photo: Gafaru Moro, DNRF Center IDUN, Ingestible devices for gut sampling, DTU

Deep-Sea Life
Photo: Frank Wenzhöfer, DNRF Center HADAL, Deep-Sea/Hadal Ecology, University of Southern Denmark.

When the ball of yarn is smaller than the needle tip
Photo: Fatemeh Ajalloueian, DNRF Center IDUN, Biomedical engineering, Technical University of Denmark.

A reservoir of a living past
Photo: Carlota Carbajo Moral, Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen – Globe Institute.

Exposing the overlooked realm of mosses
Photo: Annika Engroff, DNRF Center VOLT, Biology, Ecology, Biogeochemistry, University of Copenhagen.

Download images here

1 st Prize: Epiphany, Amazon

The panels review:

We were immediately captivated by this compelling image – full of humanity, but still powerfully mysterious. And we enjoyed how it raised questions about agency in pictures, as well as perspectives on the project’s core concern to re-examine how “otherness” can be shown and expressed. Additionally, the links back to Albert Frisch’s 19^th-century photographs provide a fascinating historical context in which to contemplate this remarkable picture.

Interview with Christian Vium

2nd Prize: Six points on a blackboard

The Panels review:

The processes of scientific thought are very
difficult to capture visually, especially when the research task is to
“understand the world that six points live in.” But this image does just that,
and with authenticity and elegance. Despite initial appearances, it’s far from
just a picture of a blackboard. The intriguingly sloped perspective helps us
understand how ideas can unfold across time and space while the visual evidence
of fresh chalk marks added to a previously wiped board demonstrates how one
layer of thinking adds to and replaces earlier ones

Interview with Nathalie Wahl

3rd Prize: The digestive system of dairy cows

The panels review:

We appreciated the compelling tension in the image between the papillae in the foreground and the more architectural, almost cave-like quality of its back-stage. Helped by a controlled use of light and shade, there is something faintly disgusting in the power of this image, which provides an ironic introduction to the study’s benign aims of reducing methane emission from ruminal microbiomes.

Interview with Giulio Giagnoni

More about the photo competition