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Searching for the stars near my hometown, Pollachi, led me to the forests of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. As I moved away from towns and their lights, the darker it got, the more I could see - fireflies, stars. I was fascinated when I saw hundreds of fireflies flashing at the edge of the forest and heard stories of trees laden with fireflies deep in the forest. Predicting the time of their peak activity, I set out to a remote area of the reserve along with forest officials. I waited for nightfall in anxiety. Flashes of green started appearing at twilight. As the place grew dark, millions of fireflies started synchronizing their flashes across several trees. Flashes started in one tree and continued across several trees in a mexican-wave like fashion. It lasted all night. I felt transported to another planet. Being under a sky full of stars, with fireflies flashing in the foreground, owls and other nocturnal creatures calling at a distance, Elephants and Leopards lurking around the corner, this was Nature as our ancestors experienced. The image, created by stacking several photographs, shows a 16 minute activity of the fireflies. ? Sriram Murali, India, 3rd Place, Professional competition, Wildlife & Nature, Sony World Photography Awards 2023

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See our pick of the entries for the Sony World Photography Awards

From a firefly panorama to a howling coyote, these are some of the finalists and shortlisted photographs for the professional competition in the 2023 Sony awards

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