2013 Small World In Motion Competition

This video is one part of a series Wim van Egmond calls “Swarms,” featuring a colony of golden algae with two flagella swarming toward the light, moving in a mesmerizing pattern reminiscent of constellations. To capture the movement and give depth to the image, he was careful to provide plenty of space for the organisms to move freely.  The organisms in the background are a bit out of focus, giving depth more realistic to their natural habitat. “It’s like an abstract painting that moves,” says van Egmond. “That’s what I love about this. Just masses of microbes filling the view, forming patterns as they congregate toward the light.”