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The devil’s in the details, and detail is something these unusual photographers know best. You won’t find any grand landscapes or celebrity portraits in this collection. These are the best of the best in photomicography, exploring the world in all its microscopic glory.

On October 16, respected imaging magnate, Nikon, announced this year’s Small World Competition winners. Top entrants ranged from lab-dwelling experts in light microscopy to hobbyists keen on the tiny side of life. Submissions, numbering near two-thousand, included magnified glimpses of slugs, crustaceans, algae, and even a CD case, artistically showcasing the invisible wonder hidden within earth’s natural and manufactured ecoverse.

The overall winner for 2008, Michael Stringer, doesn’t make a living from microscopy but he’s spent over 60 years in the passionate, if not a bit bizarre, pursuit of tiny silica-encased algae called diatoms. The passion paid off when he was awarded the top prize of $3,000 in Nikon gear and a trip to New York City.

A critical aspect of much bio- and material-science research, photomicography has been celebrated by this bold and colorful competition since 1974. Here are this year’s winners:

1. Pleurosigma (Marine Diatoms)

Michael Stringer, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, UK

2. Carbon Nanotubes (Post Growth)

Paul Marshall, National Research Council Canada

3. Convallaria Majalis (Lily of the Valley)

Albert Tousson, High Resolution Imaging Facility, University of Alabama at Birmingham

4. Differentiation of Unicellular Dictyostelium Discoideum into Multicellular Slugs

Matthew Springer, University of California, San Francisco

5. Japanese Specialty Paper Fibers (Sugixawa Tenjyo)

Charles Kazilek, Arizona State University

6. Chrysolina Fastuosa (Micro Leaf Beetle) On a Pin Head

Klaus Bolte, Stittsville, Ontario, Canada

7. Mitomycin (Anti-cancer Drug)

Dr. Margaret Oechsli, Jewish Hospital, Heart & Lung Institute, Louisville, Kentucky

8. Crystallized Mixture of Resorcinol, Methylene Blue and Sulphur

John Hart, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado

9. Compact Disc Case Detail

David Walker, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK

10. Orchestia Gammarella (Sand Hopper)

Harold Taylor, Kensworth, Dunstable, UK

11. Diatoms on Red Alga

Wim van Egmond, Micropolitan Museum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

12. Rear Leg Section of Water Boatman (Hemiptera: Corixidae)

Charles Krebs, Charles Krebs Photography, Issaquah, Washington, US

13. Recrystallized Vitamin C

Milan Kosanovic, Belgrade, Serbia

14. Closterium, Diatoms and Spirogyra

Charles Krebs, Charles Krebs Photography, Issaquah, Washington, US

15. Radiolarians, Fossil Shells

Wim van Egmond, Micropolitan Museum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

16. Transfected Fibroblast with Lamellipodia

Richard Bulgin, Imperial College London, UK

17. Arabidopsis Thaliana Root
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Monica Pons, Instituto de Biologia Molecular de Barcelona (CSIC), Spain

18. ‘Brainbow’ Transgenic Mouse Hippocampus

Dr Tamily Weissman, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University

19. Crassa (Bread Mold) Exposed to Latrunculin B

Eric Kalkman, Laboratory of Phytopathology, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

20. Sergestes Larvae (Deep-water Decapod Crustacean)

Solvin Zankl, Solvin Zankl Images, Kiel, Germany

All photos courtesy of Nikon Small World.

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