The 100 best photographs from the Ojo de Pez photo contest will now be available virtually. In the comfort of your home and for free, you can admire the great natural beauty and diversity of aquatic species in Chile, some unique in the world.
© Marcelo Rojas.
Lorenzo Palma y Carla Firmani, IDEAL Center. More than 180 thousand people have visited the exhibition “Ojo de Pez. Portrait of the life of the aquatic world,” which has travelled from Concepción to the extreme south 30 times. However, due to the social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, its curators decided to place it on a virtual platform. “So that the public can continue visiting it, but from the comfort of their home and without running any risk,” said Carla Firmani, in charge of outreach of the Center for Dynamic Research on High Latitude Marine Ecosystems (IDEAL) of the Austral University of Chile, the entity that created this new virtual space.
The images correspond to a selection of the best photographs of the last three years (2017-2019) of the Ojo de Pez photographic contest. This contest, which has been developed continuously since 2014, brings together professional and amateur photographers from all over the country.
The exhibition shows the natural beauty, the diversity of species, the productive activities and the threats faced by the aquatic, marine and freshwater ecosystems of Chile.
Thus, it is possible to see, for example, a beautiful Dalmatian sea slug under the sea, endemic to Chile. Appreciate cold and extreme landscapes like Antarctica or pristine landscapes like Isla Navarino in Tierra del Fuego. Appreciate the hard work of algae and shore harvesters, get excited about the exact moment when a Gentoo penguin hatches, or observe the extent of plastic pollution on the coast.
© Daniel Guzmán.
“The objective of this exhibition is to create awareness of the great importance of these habitats, together with sensitizing citizens about their fragility and the need to protect them through sustainable management and initiatives that promote their comprehensive care,” they point out from IDEAL.
To enjoy the exhibition, just visit http://expo.ojopez.cl/ and register. It is also possible to leave comments through a guest book and share on social media.
The Ojo de Pez photographic contest, whose call is open until August 14, 2020, is organized by the Institute of Marine and Limnological Sciences (ICML) of the Austral University of Chile (UACh), the PAR Explora Los Ríos of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation (Minciencia), the Center for Dynamic Research on High Latitude Marine Ecosystems (IDEAL) and the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH).