Focusing the Lens on Scientific Exposure
Time to read: Under 3 minutes
“I explore strange and beautiful stories from the natural world. That means I try to make images of phenomena, creatures, and interactions in nature, and try to use those images to teach people about the natural world.”
Back in 2017, Anand Varma brought his strange and mysterious, very often fascinating photography and stories to Arts Commons, enthralling a packed Jack Singer Concert Hall. Now in 2021, he returns, albeit virtually, to speak again with an excited Calgary audience.
“I have presented in a lot of different cities at this point and Calgary still stands out as one of the warmest and most enthusiastic audiences I have ever encountered,” says Anand. “I couldn't be more thrilled to connect with them again! I will be talking about how science has shaped my worldview as well as how I am trying to use my images to shape people's attitude towards science. In particular, how images can teach us to pay closer attention to the world around us.”
For Anand Varma, the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t as earth-shattering to his work as to so many other National Geographic Explorers. True he was no longer able to travel to photograph his specimens, but he was able to overcome this with some creative use of international shipping. So much of what Anand does is in isolation attempting to capture images beyond what we can see with our naked eye.
“I spent early 2020 in a UC Riverside lab filming hummingbirds, trying to come up with new techniques for capturing their movements and behaviour. The pandemic ended that; in mid-March we had to leave the university, and the whole state locked down,” says Anand. “I have a fellowship from National Geographic and the Rita Allen Foundation to study jellyfish. Initially it was to be a global project: flying to Japan, visiting aquariums, filming and photographing in the ocean. But even before COVID-19, I had been preparing to do more work at home, in a detached garage I use as a lab.
“I had set up a tank with guidance from Steve Spina of the New England Aquarium, and he FedExed me jellyfish. So, in quarantine I focused on one species of moon jelly, trying to coax all of their secrets out of them in front of the camera.”
Moon jellies - photo by Anand Varma
“By midsummer, the tank was getting a little dirty, so I cleaned it—and the polyps in the tank, the early life stage, began to transform. I walked in one day and saw a little brown structure standing out against all these white polyps! This metamorphosis is the basis of my whole jellyfish project, showing how their bodies change shape in response to age and stress.
“Over time I learned to trigger the process: I pop a jar of polyps in the fridge for two weeks, and after that, they will transform into baby jellies. Now I can re-create experiments I’ve read about in research papers, describing how jellyfish are able to reverse their age back to polyps by reorganizing the tissue in their bodies. I don’t have a lot of confidence that I can pull this off, but that’s what I’m trying to capture in images.”
Anand Varma will be joined by Prasenjeet Yadav for Scientific Exposure, a discussion that will delve into how both Explorers use photography to open up new worlds of discovery, right under our noses.
“Prasenjeet is a good friend and we have worked on a couple of projects together. We'll be sharing a few of our collaborations in the show,” says Anand. “Prasenjeet has such incredible knowledge about the subjects and landscapes he works in. That really shows through in his images as well as the stories he shares.”
Join Arts Commons and National Geographic Live on Monday, February 8 at 7:00pm. Virtual tickets are free, but registration is required prior to the presentation to participate. Click here to register now!
We are so very grateful for the generous support of ConocoPhillips Canada, Keyera Corp., Enbridge Inc., Saskatchewan Mining and Minerals, and our Explorers Circle and Founders Circle members who are making it possible for Arts Commons to continue to engage and inspire student and public audiences during these unprecedented times.
