Art meets Science: 2014 photography competition

This year, all DCI schools were invited to participate in the first annual, Science-Art Photography Competition. The theme of the 2014 competition matched the Visual and Performing Arts Festival theme of ‘Journey’. What is a journey and how can it be captured in a photograph? Staff and students sought to answer these questions, submitting photographs into one of five scientifically orientated categories. A panel of five judges from three different campuses rated the submissions of students and staff in three groups. In total, more than 140 photos were submitted by students and staff from the different colleges. The team of judges was formed from science and art teachers and leaders across the Dulwich network. These judges voted to identify the best photos. The top three photos from each age group and category came from each of the Dulwich colleges that submitted photos.  Theme: Journey Groups: - Under 14 - 14 and over - Staff Categories: - Animals in action - Man in the environment - Living plants - Science at work - Microscopes and telescopes Jolly Yau from Dulwich College Suzhou (DCSZ) placed first in the Microscopes and Telescopes category for students over 14.  She wrote, “Dewdrops resting on a fresh morning leaf, refracting the light from the spheres of water. It is shaped like a butterfly wing – intricate, yet full of energy.  Microscopes have allowed mankind to discover the intricate structures of cells of plants and animals. In this photograph, the “veins” (xylem/phloem) are visible due to the light hitting the leaf from behind.  The journey it took, for us to look at leaves from a microscopic level and being able to name certain parts of the leaf, is spectacular.  Before the invention of convex lenses, one simply could not observe the details.  But now, I could use a 100mm macro lens to see and capture the astounding detail on the leaf.  The journey of science is simply incredible.” Ian Stewart, a teacher Dulwich College Seoul (DCSL), won the Animals in Action category for staff.  He wrote about his picture titled “Wink”, “In an unfrequented corner of Kuching Orangutan Sanctuary, lays a solitary crocodile, snout resting between the bars fortifying its enclosure. Killing time before the ‘main act’ – the rehabilitated, and free, primates appearing from the rainforest for their scheduled feed – I photographed this throwback from the Mesozoic Era.  The lifeless, fixed gaze gave me the confidence to position my lens inches away from his deadly teeth. Appreciating the immaculate pattern of his skin through my viewfinder, I wondered why this evolutionary champion was lowly, confined and uncelebrated. He winked at me. I left.” Fredric Kong, a student at DCB wrote about his Science in Action photo, “These were one of my first five hundred photos taken from a sky-bridge in Shanghai.  In the busiest areas in Shanghai, the light of cars are something that is everywhere in the photos.  Cars are transportation devices that require electricity, something that generates light and an engine.” William Wong from DCB shared his powerful experience of ‘Emptiness’, submitting a photo by that title in the Man and the Environment category.  He wrote, “In April 2010, Yushu suffered a 7.1 magnitude earthquake which obliterated the entire region. Thousands of people were killed and more were displaced. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to join a charity group and head up to Qinghai Provence to document the region. This shot was taken in the centre of the village, which was once occupied by busy shops, houses and people. This old man gave me a sense of desperateness and helplessness, praying with his mala (prayer beads) and holding an old plastic pipe to support his injured leg” Students and staff who placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in their respective categories received an award for their contribution on February 28th 2014.