Photographer Anand Varma has once again created magic with his camera. Varma, a first-generation Indian American who grew up in Atlanta, was among the 14 ‘Emerging Explorers’ selected by National Geographic last month. He is now earning global acclaim for capturing stunning footages of hummingbirds in slow motion, lending a peek into their forked tongues and the aerodynamics of their flight as they beat their wings 70-200 times per second, a movement that remains imperceptible to the naked eye.
Working alongside ornithologists, Varma shot the footage using high-speed cameras. The story, which appears in the July 2017 issue of the publication, was the result of almost a decade-long pursuit to study these tiny birds.
Varma, a graduate in integrative biology from UC Berkeley, has been awarded $10,000 for research and exploration as part of the the National Geographic Society’s Emerging Explorer Program. Among his other noteworthy works are the narration of science behind primate behavior and bird biomechanics to amphibian diseases and mangrove forests.
Here is a look at some shots from his incredible portfolio:
Anna’s hummingbird shakes it .. to get dry!
A post shared by Anand Varma (@anandavarma) on Jul 10, 2017 at 11:00am PDT
No, not a Game of Thrones dragon, that’s a wooly false vampire bat at a Mayan temple in Mexico
A post shared by Anand Varma (@anandavarma) on Jun 28, 2017 at 9:57am PDT
Female Coppery-bellied Puffleg hummingbird. Notice the mite on the nose?
A post shared by Anand Varma (@anandavarma) on Apr 5, 2016 at 12:14pm PDT
Leafhopper on, what else, but a leaf
A post shared by Anand Varma (@anandavarma) on Apr 28, 2015 at 9:27pm PDT
A zombie ladybug being enslaved by a mind-controlling parasitic wasp. Incredible, did you say? We did too
Brightly coloured extensions on hind legs of flag-footed bug. Yes, hair extensions are not everybody’s fetish
A post shared by Anand Varma (@anandavarma) on Apr 28, 2015 at 7:07am PDT