Nature in Focus at the Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum is celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the ‘world-renowned’ Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. Over the past six decades, stunning photographs that the award highlights have told stories of both the beauty as well as the vulnerability of the natural world. They have also advanced our scientific understanding of it.  

Now, in a free display, the museum will take a look at the role that photography has played in advancing the science of natural history. It will trace the history of photography in natural history, exploring not just the close tied between science, photography, and art, but also how modern imaging techniques help both with science and storytelling.

With equipment and technology advancing, we see photography plan an increasingly pivotal role in research. From images of a cyanotype to a 3D-printed cardboard head of Dippy, the world-famous diplodocus, new imaging techniques will unlock once unknown details about the planet’s past and present.

Highlights also include autochrome slides of wildflowers from Kashmir in India, insights into the imaging and analysis techniques used, historical photographs from the museum’s archives, and an x-ray of a taxidermy grizzly bear foot.

The event launches this month and will continue until July 2025. It’s free and there’s no booking required.