Every year, Nikon holds the Small World Photomicrography Competition for the enthusiasts of macro-photography. This is the art of capturing extreme close-up imagery, usually of very small subjects and living organisms like insects.
And each year, they are kind enough to share the winners with all of us.
More than 2,000 entries were received from 90 countries in 2020, the 46th year of the competition.
Check out the worlds within our worlds man…
Image of Distinction: A 20 million-year-old winged ant, trapped in amber resin – Dr. Yuan Ji, Shanghai, ChinaImage of Distinction: A short-tailed fruit bat embryo (Carollia perspicillata) – Zuzana Vavrušová & Dr. Richard R. Behringer, UCSF / Université Paris-Saclay12th Place Winner: A knotted human hair – Robert Vierthaler, Pfarrwerfen, Salzburg, AustriaImage of Distinction: A brightfield image of cyanobacteria (Dolichospermum) – Wim van Egmond, Berkel en Rodenrijs, Zuid Holland, Netherlands5th Place: A close view of a bogong moth – Ahmad Fauzan, Jakarta, IndonesiaImage of Distinction: The body of a Chaoboridae larva with nervous system and fat droplets – Anne Gleich, Kaiserslautern, Rheinlandpfalz, GermanyImage of Distinction: Slime mold – Sergii Dymchenko, Bellevue, Washington, USAHonorable Mention: A ship-timber beetle (Lymexylidae) – Marco Vinicio Retana, Palmares, Alajuela, Costa RicaImage of Distinction: Wing scales from a butterfly (Papilio palinurus) – Marco Jongsma, Lemmer, Friesland, NetherlandsImage of Distinction: The embryo of an anemone fish (Amphiprion percula) – Daniel Knop, Oberzent-Airlenbach, Hessen, GermanyImage of Distinction: Mouse brain cells grown within a microfluidic maze – Esmeralda Paric & Holly Stefen, Macquarie Park, NSW, Australiamage of Distinction: Diatoms (a single-celled alga which has a cell wall of silica) – Ken Schwarz & Dr. Osamu Oku, Lexington, Massachusetts, USA4th Place: Multi-nucleate spores and hyphae of a soil fungus (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus) – Dr. Vasileios Kokkoris, Dr. Franck Stefani & Dr. Nicolas Corradi, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaImage of Distinction: The interior of an unopened camellia flower bud showing immature anther and filament – Charles Krebs, Issaquah, Washington, USAImage of Distinction: A jumping spider (Salticidae) – Andrei Nica, Bucharest, Romania, Romania13th Place: Crystals formed after heating an ethanol and water solution containing L-glutamine and beta-alanine – Justin Zoll, Ithaca, New York, USAImage of Distinction: Daphnia (water microorganism) – Paweł Błachowicz, Końskie, Świętokrzyskie, Poland16th Place: Nylon stockings – Alexander Klepnev, Moscow, Russian FederationImage of Distinction: A moth (Ctenucha brunnea) – Dr. Andrew Posselt, San Francisco, Mill Valley, California, USAImage of Distinction: Salt crystals from the Salar de Uyuni brine (the world’s largest salt flat located in Bolivia, Africa) – Maria Jesus Redrejo Rodriguez & Dr. Eberhardt Josue Friedrich Kernahan, Madrid, SpainHonorable Mention: The tongue of a freshwater snail (Radula) – Dr. Igor Siwanowicz, Ashburn, Virginia, USA6th Place: Hebe plant anther with pollen – Dr. Robert Markus & Zsuzsa Markus, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, United KingdomImage of Distinction: An agatized dinosaur bone – Randy Fullbright, Vernal, Utah, USAImage of Distinction: The structure of an insect wing – Aigars Jukna, Riga, LatviaHonorable Mention: Liquid crystals in a mobile LCD screen – Alexey Marchenko, Gomel, BelarusHonorable Mention: A beetle’s leg – Aigars Jukna, Riga, LatviaImage of Distinction: Cell division in microalgae (Cosmarium) – Rogelio Moreno, Panama, Panama18th Place: A close view of an atlas moth’s wing – Chris Perani, San Rafael, California, USA
