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Few people get a chance to photograph animals such as hippos, hyenas, or crocodiles. Suren Manvelyan, however, has managed to get so close to them, he even captured insanely detailed close-ups of their eyes.

Some of these macro shots look like landscapes of distant yet-to-be-discovered planets while others remind some sort of a portal to another dimension. But they all prove that the eyes really are the windows to the soul; analyzing the images you can't help but experience profound sensations, as if you're uncovering deeply personal secrets.

More info: surenmanvelyan.comFacebook | Instagram

#1

Lama

Lama

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Steve Barnett
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's not an eye: It's a beautiful lake somewhere, probably in South America? (Sorry, trying to be funny. Again, I've already got my coat)

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Monika Soffronow
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Like all other ruminants, the pupil is oval shaped with the horizontal axis being the longer one. The difference comes with structures called ‘iridic granules’ or ‘corpora nigra’. These are dark lumpy masses coming off the iris at the top and/or bottom of the pupil margins. They are thought to shade the eye from bright sunlight." https://animalcorner.org/llama-anatomy/#:~:text=some%20are%20not.-,Llama%20Eyes,the%20back%20of%20the%20eye).

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AnnieLaurie Burke
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think this is actually the eye of a LLAMA. The word LAMA is an honorific for a Tibetan spiritual leader, as in Dalai Lama. While some sources accept LAMA as the spelling for the animal, that's sloppy American-speak (along the lines of saying "he gave a gift to Jim and I"), and it is pronounced Ya-ma. Can't we have a little consideration for other languages and their speakers?

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Heather Jerrie
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Those flaps shade the eye from bright sunlight. They even fit together like fingers when the iris contracts, so light only comes in at each end!

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Heather Jerrie
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Apparently those folds shade the eye from bright sunlight. They even close together like fingers, so light just comes in at each end.

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katboxjanitor
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That is surreal, I love looking at animal eyes and their faces as well.

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Pauline Bennett
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Amazing - I wonder if the inner folds prevent dust from entering the eye.

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Niki Colemont
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How is this even posibble? This is the strangest thing i have ever seen in photography ! Well done man

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Scyth
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Protein structures are very different and can be anything and beautiful. It is truly fascinating, especially if you have an interest in biology like I do.

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Darwinist
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Llamas not lamas. Also they have eye curtains for when the sun is bright.

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"I began thinking about this series after I completed a similar one about the human eye," Manvelyan told Bored Panda. "After the first project, I had really improved in shooting eyes in any conditions, and eventually settled on the idea to photograph animal eyes."

Manvelyan captured animals pretty much everywhere he could find them, from his backyard to zoos, oceanariums, and so on. "Sometimes, people even contact me, asking to shoot the eyes of their pets."

"The eyes of every animal is the result of it adapting to its living conditions. That's the reason why there are so many eye types. Water animals have completely different eyes than those living on earth, too. I think this is what makes the animal eye series so interesting to the viewer."

Manvelyan also started a game with his online followers. When he would upload a new photo, he'd ask his Facebook and Instagram fans to guess what species the eye belongs to. "Interestingly, it can become quite a tough challenge."

Being so close to animals, however, is a challenge of its own. For example, Manvelyan spent an hour with a llama in her cage, trying to make her familiar with him and to allow him to get within the required distance for the right shot. "I would like to stress that all animals included in the series were alive and no animal was hurt in any way during shoots," the photographer added.

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He wouldn't disclose any technical aspects of these shoots as he spent a lot of time and effort perfecting the setup for this particular series, but said the most interesting part of it all was realizing that nearly all people have the same eye structure. "It doesn't matter if you are young or old, white or black."

#4

Long-Eared Owl

Long-Eared Owl

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Marissa Wyatt
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

wow, the texture on the eyes looks strange. this is so beautiful and i appreciate the person that took these greatly.

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#6

Nylus Crocodile

Nylus Crocodile

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#13

Ray

Ray

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#20

Black Rabbit

Black Rabbit

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#22

Blue Crayfish

Blue Crayfish

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Darwinist
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's a compound eye or many eyes put together. It allows for vision in multiple spectrums but has poor vision quality.

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#24

Husky Dog

Husky Dog

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Denise Mclean
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nice Eye, looks like a planet with some kind of burst or radiation all around it .

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#25

Armenian Muflon

Armenian Muflon

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#26

Coral Zebra Fish

Coral Zebra Fish

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#28

Tiger Python (Non Albino)

Tiger Python (Non Albino)

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Ninja Kitty
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

HOW DID YOU GET SO CLOSE TO THIS BEAUTIFUL TIGER PYTHON WITHOUT IT HURTING YOU -cough- but that's a really Cool looking eye

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#30

David's Deer

David's Deer

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#33

Snail

Snail

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#34

Horse

Horse

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#37

Lark

Lark

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#38

Caiman

Caiman

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#39

Owl

Owl

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#41

Basiliscus Lizard

Basiliscus Lizard

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#42

Garden Tree Boa

Garden Tree Boa

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#44

Siam Cat

Siam Cat

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Scyth
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a little weird. Maybe it looks like that because it is distorted by the refraction.

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#46

Black Kite

Black Kite

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#47

British Short Hair Cat

British Short Hair Cat

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#49

Lobster

Lobster

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#51

Tiger Python (Albino)

Tiger Python (Albino)

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#52

Rabbit

Rabbit

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#53

Fish

Fish

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#54

Camerunian Goat

Camerunian Goat

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#55

Scorpionfish

Scorpionfish

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#56

Red-Eared Turtle

Red-Eared Turtle

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#57

Stork

Stork

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#58

Lionfish

Lionfish

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#59

Fish

Fish

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#60

Pekines Dog

Pekines Dog

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#62

Monkey

Monkey

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#63

Lemur Catta

Lemur Catta

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#64

Stingray

Stingray

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#67

Tockus Bird

Tockus Bird

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#68

Iguana

Iguana

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#70

Fenneck

Fenneck

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#73

Lemur

Lemur

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#74

Snake: The Garden Boa

Snake: The Garden Boa

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