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Fascinating Frames by Nat Geo Explorer of the Year Anand Varma

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!

No, not a Game of Thrones dragon, that’s a wooly false vampire bat at a Mayan temple in Mexico

Female Coppery-bellied Puffleg hummingbird. Notice the mite on the nose?

Leafhopper on, what else, but a leaf

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

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