In close contact with whales
The photo is this year's winner of the #Scientists at work photo competition organized by the science magazine “Nature”. | © Photo: Emma Vogel

In close contact with whales

Emma Vogel won this year's #Scientists at work competition organized by the science magazine “Nature” with a theatrical image from a Norwegian fjord.

23. May 2025 | by Thorsten Naeser

Seagulls screech at dawn. The sea is choppy. In a northern Norwegian fjord, a scientist fights against the raging waves in his small boat. The biologist Audun Rikardsen is theatrically illuminated by the floodlights of a fishing trawler approaching menacingly in the background. This photo was taken by Rikardsen's then doctoral student Emma Vogel in November 2020 and is this year's winner of the #Scientists at work photo competition organized by the science magazine “Nature”.

Emma Vogel is a spatial ecologist and researches the movements of animals. She works as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Tromsø. The impression the photo makes on the viewer seems deceptive: Because for Emma Vogel, the photo symbolizes one of the rare peaceful moments on an otherwise chaotic morning. “The moment felt very calm,” she says of the photo. “I'm actually more used to things being turbulent when I'm working in the field.”

Emma Vogel in action with her camera.

During their research, the ecologists accompany fishing vessels in the fjords of northern Norway. Herring are plentiful in this harsh environment. The fish attract large numbers of killer whales and humpback whales. Vogel and Rikardsen track the whales' routes using satellite transmitters attached to the large-caliber air rifle that Rikardsen is holding in the photo.

The ecologists use the transmitters to collect data on the whales' location and surfacing behavior. Some also record diving behavior, including dive duration and maximum depth. Often, the researchers also perform a biopsy and take tissue samples that are used to monitor the whales' health.

Through this activity, the scientists stay in touch with their animals. “You can even smell their breath,” says Vogel. “You can hear them before you see them, which is always incredible to me.”

Upon closer inspection of Emma Vogel's photo, a killer whale can be seen in the background of the image, framed by the metal rail behind Rikardsen - something that had escaped the judges when they first saw the entry. “I was very pleased about that,” says Vogel.

More award-winning images::

www.nature.com/immersive/scientistatwork/index.html