See the Epic Photos from the Exclusive Photo Walk at CERN

CERN is a renowned international nuclear research facility located just outside Geneva. Straddling the border between Switzerland and France, it's home to the infamous Large Hadron Collider — the largest single machine ever made by humankind. It was built to find the Higgs boson, often referred to as the elusive "God particle." CERN recently hosted a small group of select photographers for a rare photo walk throughout their massive experimental laboratory, and we have an exclusive first look at the photos.

Inside CERN

I caught up with Dutch photographer Ruben Lammerink, who won a competition to attend the event along with 18 other handpicked photographers from around the world.

"It was an amazing experience and such an honor to photograph these great scientific achievements," said Lammerink. "It was tricky to shoot because despite the massive campus, they make use of every inch of space. It was a tight squeeze with a lot of mixed lighting, and sometimes very dim, so I shot wide open with a high ISO. We had guides lead us through different facilities hosting complex experiments. It was chaotic and mind-boggling and beautiful."

Check out the photos below from a few of the CERN photo walk attendees.

A big thanks to photographers Ruben Lammerink, Christine Niemann, Gaetano Cessati, Maëlle Baud, and Andrew Hara for contributing their photography. Cover photo by Andrew Hara.

All images used with permission.