Nikon award-winning closeup photo of demonic ant face creeps out netizens

Using reflected light technique, wildlife photographer Eugenijus Kavaliauskas submitted the ant’s face, magnified five times, to the 2022 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition.

Kavaliauskas’ submission was one of the 57 selected “Images of Distinction.”

“There are no horrors in nature,” said the photographer even as many netizens said they are creeped out by the image that seemed straight out of a horror film.

Eugenijus’ photo of an ant was such a horrific contradiction of what most people thought an ant looked like that it became a worldwide headline.

The Lithuanian photographer told Insider that he lives next to a forest, which made it easier for him to capture and photograph.

“It’s boring to take an ant photo running banally on the ground. I’m always looking for details of shadows and unseen corners,” he said.

The completion celebrates the art of microscopic photography, which allows people to capture details the human eye cannot see.

Though he didn’t win the competition for his stirring image, his image found itself in the “Image of Distinction” category.

Around 1300 people entered the competition this year. The first prize and $3000 was bagged by Grigorii Timid and Michel Milinkovitch of the University of Geneva. They awarded the pair for their vivid portrait of Madagascar giant day gecko’s front paw, this week.