National Geographic Invisible Wonders Photographs of the Hidden World

In this dazzling coffee table book, acclaimed scientist-photographer Anand Varma unveils a world never before seen by human eyes, achieved through the innovative techniques of today’s finest photographers.

“If we hold our breath and gaze a bit more carefully at our world, we might just glimpse a few beautiful secrets hiding in plain sight,” writes Anand Varma, renowned National Geographic photographer, in this book.

The long tongue of a hummingbird. The intricate shape of an embryonic stem cell. The gauzy brilliance of a supernova. These and many more phenomena appear in this astonishing book, revealing a world once invisible to the naked eye, but now revealed through the lenses and technical mastery of today’s most innovative photographers.

Invisible Wonders explores how size and time, light and focus, can show us our world in brand new ways. From the microscopic to the cosmic, from minuscule elements to intricate life-forms, here is a surprising assortment of objects we are unable to see with own eyes. Contemporary photographers offer insight into the innovative artistry that makes these images possible, alongside Varma’s commentary what has inspired his own work.

Filled with breathtaking images and examples of technical mastery, this glorious book unveils the “beautiful secrets” to be found in this world of invisible wonders.

ANAND VARMA—author and curator of this book—is a National Geographic photographer and explorer whose work on hummingbirds, insects, and jellyfish has attracted international acclaim. Working first as assistant to renowned photographer David Liittschwager, Varma received a National Geographic Early Career Grant in 2010 and has since been recognized as a National Geographic Media Innovation Fellow and a Rita Allen Civic Science Fellow. His 2014 National Geographic cover story, “Mindsuckers,” about parasitic insect behavior, won first prize for a nature photo story from the World Press in 2015. His TED talk, accompanied by photographs, of "The First 21 Days of a Bee's Life" has garnered 2.75 million views. In 2022 the National Geographic Society agreed to fund his Wonder Lab, designed to support visionary photographic techniques in service to science.