MaxCine student wins photography prize
Gunnar Hartmann has won this year’s #ScientistAtWork photo competition run by the journal Nature with a photograph of the bald ibis project
Article republished with permission from the Max Planck Society.
As dawn breaks over the fields and olive groves of Jaén in southern Spain, a flock of bald ibises takes to the air. From the back seat of an ultralight aircraft, Helena Wehner, the birds’ caretaker, calls out a rhythmic melody in German to guide the birds on their way to their winter quarters.
What at first glance looks like a scene from a film documents an extraordinary species conservation project – and has won this year’s #ScientistAtWork photo competition run by the journal Nature. The photo was taken by 24-year-old student Gunnar Hartmann, who has had a special connection with the Max Planck Society for more than ten years: he has been involved with MaxCine since the age of fourteen, through which he also came into contact with the bald ibis project.
The bald ibis project is an Austrian research and conservation initiative aimed at reintroducing this rare bird species to Europe. Bald ibises once bred in the northern foothills of the Alps, but disappeared from there around 400 years ago. The birds are reared by humans and learn to follow microlight aircraft along their migration routes. In this way, they are gradually reintroduced to their historical habitats.
From MaxCine to the Bald Ibis Project
For 15 years, the Centre at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior has been introducing children and young people to scientific topics relating to animal behaviour, ecology and nature conservation. What makes it special is that, alongside research, creative forms of expression such as film, photography, theatre and art play a central role. This fosters encounters between young people and researchers, opening up new perspectives on science.
“MaxCine has not only given me insights into research, but has also shaped my approach to photography. Both of these factors ultimately led to this photograph,” he says. As part of the annual migration, he assisted with route planning and documented the approximately 2,800-kilometre journey through photography.
Hartmann is studying BioGeosciences at the University of Koblenz. His winning photo, along with four other prize-winning images, was selected from more than 220 entries by researchers and students from all over the world. The award-winning photographs will be published in Nature; the winners will also receive prize money of 500 British pounds.
