Adorable image of a damsel not in distress wins biology journal photography competition

A photography competition hosted by a pair of biological science journals has revealed the winner of its 2026 edition, with the crowned image depicting a damsel that's rather curious – not in distress.

Now in its third year, the BMC Ecology and Evolution and BMC Zoology image competition celebrates photos depicting the beauty and diversity of life on Earth. Photographers have to be affiliated with a research institution and work in either ecology, evolutionary biology, paleontology or zoology.

This year’s overall competition winner, Window to the Wetlands, came from Sritam Kumar Sethy, a nature photographer and self-professed “science enthusiast” studying at Berhampur University in northeastern India.

His photo captured an orange-tailed marsh dart damselfly (Ceriagrion cerinorubellum) framed by a hole in a leaf. Rather than flying away in distress, the curious insect stayed put, peering directly at the camera.

The competition judges praised the image as “beautifully composed and vivid,” with Sethy commenting that it sheds light on the “often-overlooked world of freshwater biodiversity.”

Along with Sethy’s overall winning scene, the judges crowned images in three separate categories.

First place in the Relationships in Nature category went to Victor Huertas from James Cook University in Australia, for his “dramatic snapshot” of two male giant Australian cuttlefish (Ascarosepion apama) competing for a female during an annual spawning aggregation.

Liam Brennan of the University of New Brunswick, Canada, took the Research in Action category for his “atmospheric” photo of students investigating the local fish population under a moonlit sky in shallow coastal waters.

Image 1 of 3

Image 1

Two male giant Australian cuttlefish (Ascarosepion apama) competing for a female during a mating aggregation in South Australia’s Upper Spencer Gulf. The photo captures the way tens of thousands of cuttlefish use their skin’s pigmentation to vie for mating rights.

Image 2

University of new Brunswick undergraduate students investigate the local fish population under a moonlit sky in the shallow coastal waters of the province.

Image 3

A stereographic drone shot of Long Sault Parkway at the western end of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The photograph illustrates the environmental disruption caused by past dam construction, alongside the ecological recovery that can follow conservation efforts.

Meanwhile, Allen Tian, a researcher at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, snagged the Protecting Our Planet category with a creative stereographic drone shot of Long Sault Parkway at the western end of the St Lawrence Seaway.

As the overall winner, Sethy took home €500 (approximately $580 / £420 / AU$820), while each category winner claimed €200 (approximately $230 / £170 / AU$330). The winning images will also feature in an editorial story published in BMC Ecology and Evolution.

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