Under bright light, the Portuguese man-of-war becomes a twisting landscape of neon

When light beams through a Portuguese man-of-war’s gelatinous body, the aquatic creature’s swirling tentacles and effervescent colors turn into glowing, otherworldly terrains. Photographer Aaron Ansarov took pictures of man-of-wars arranged in various groupings on top of a light table, and mirrored the images to turn them into kaleidoscopic shapes that can resemble alien figures, precious gems, and terrifying landscapes. Wired is featuring a selection of Ansarov’s photographs, and they spoke with him about both the series and how he manages to handle the creature’s roughly 30-foot long stinging tendrils. “It’s kind of like nature’s Rorschach test,” Ansarov told Wired. “Whenever I show the photos everyone sees something different.”