23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Wildlife
Floating Gecko

I managed to compose this surreal photograph of the rare Cnemaspis Girii gecko, a unique species renowned for its incredible adaptation to float and swim across water. I transformed this natural phenomenon into a luminous spectacle through the strategic use of an underwater waterproof LED torch. Positioned beneath the surface, the torch casts an intense, upward glow, turning the water into a glowing, liquid slab of light. The gecko itself is suspended on this radiant plane, its form dramatically silhouetted or sharply edge-lit from below, emphasizing its delicate structure and the physics-defying act of flotation. The result is a truly original frame: a wildlife encounter I bathed in a calculated, otherworldly luminosity that underscores the lizard's rarity and remarkable survival strategy.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 11.2025
Date Uploaded: 12.2025
Photo Location: Satara, India
Camera: Canon EOS R5m2
Copyright: © Indranil Basu Mallick