2009 35th Nikon Small World Photo Competition

Now in its 35th year, the Nikon Small World competition recognizes the art of photomicrography, with specimens spanning biological, industrial, and geological sciences.

Judges assess images for both scientific and artistic qualities, with the leading images displaying strengths in both areas. The images' impact, technical proficiency, originality, and informational contribution to the scientific community are all criteria used to evaluate the entries.




This 20th place winner is a 40x image of a rusted old coin. It was captured by Havi Sarfaty of the Tallinn Israel Veterinary Association in Ramat-Gan, Israel.



19th place: Yanping Wang, Beijing Planetarium, Beijing, China
Snowflake (40x), Reflected and Transmitted Light



18th place: Julia Sero, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.
Human skin on fibronectin with growth factor (60x), Confocal



17th place: Rebekah R. Helton, Department of Biological Sciences
University of Delaware, Newark, Del.
Stopwatch (2.5x), Confocal (with Depth Coding)



16th place: Massimo Brizzi, Microcosmo Italia, Empoli, Firenze, Italy
Snail eggs (200x), Differential Interference Contrast



15th place: Fabrice Parais, DIREN Basse-Normandie, Herouville-Saint-Clair, France
Atherix ibis (fly) aquatic larva (25x), Stereomicroscopy



14th place: Tora Bardal, Department of Biology
NTNU Center of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Trondheim, Norway
Lobster egg (3.2x), Darkfield



13th place: John Hart, Hart3D Films, Boulder, Colo.
Recrystallized melted mixture of acetanalide, resorcinal,
and carbon tetrabromide (33x), Transmitted Polarized Light



12th place: Tsutomu Seimiya, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
Flow pattern in draining soap film (10x), Simple Microscope



11th place: Dominik Paquet, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universit



10th place: Arlene Wechezak, Anacortes, Wash.
Algae and diatoms (10x), Darkfield



9th place: Bernardo Cesare, Dipartimento di Geoscienze Universit



8th place: Lloyd Donaldson, Scion, Next Generation Biomaterials
Rotorua, New Zealand
Cotton fibers stained with berberine sulphate and color depth shaded (200x)
Confocal Fluorescence



7th place: Shirley Owens, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.
Hair-like trichomes on Thunbergia alata (Black-eyed Susan vine) (450x)
Confocal Fluorescence and Reflection



6th place: Havi Sarfaty, Israel Veterinary Association, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Discus fish scales (20x), Transmitted Light



5th place: Bruno Vellutini, Centro de Biologia Marinha Universidade de Sao Paulo
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Oral surface of a young seastar (40x), Darkfield



4th place: James Hayden, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, Penn.
Anglerfish ovary (4x), Two-channel Autofluorescence



3rd place: Pedro Barrios-Perez
Institute for Microstructural Sciences National Research Council of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
Wrinkled photoresist (200x), Brightfield



2nd place, Gerd A. Guenther D

1st place: Heiti Paves, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia
Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) anther (20x), Confocal

Interested in seeing how your own microscopic photos stack up?
Submissions for next year's competition are due April 30, 2010.

Photo Article from ZDNet, Webpage by SNUMA WM - October 19, 2009