The 1977 Small World competition (at the time, called the Photomicro/macrography contest) was sponsored by the Nikon Instrument Division when it was a subsidiary of Ehrenreich Photo-Optical Industries, Inc. Included among the unusual microscopy techniques employed by the entrants: utilizing a darkfield condenser in a polarizing microscope, "rear" illumination, Hoffman Modulation Contrast (very new at the time), electronic flash photomacrography, and ultraviolet illumination.

• First Prize
  James W. Smith
  Independence, Ohio, USA
  Crystals of rutile (titanium dioxide) and tridymite (a polymorph of quartz) in a cobalt-rich glass (350x)
  Combined oblique illumination and reflected light
  Nomarski Interference Contrast

• Second Prize
  Brian Johnston
  Etobicoke, Ontario
  A thin-melt specimen of hippuric acid (280x)
  Darkfield condenser in polarizing microscope

• Third Prize
  James M. Bell
  Tarrytown, New York, USA
  Living fresh-water cyclops (water flea) with egg sacs (75x)
  Polarized Light Illumination

• Fourth Prize
  Jack Kath
  Westfield, New Jersey, USA
  Villus in section of small intestine (125x)
  Illuminated from rear

• Fifth Prize
  Joseph Goren
  Miami, Florida, USA
  Latex-injected vessels of the iris of the eye (125x)
  Oblique Illumination

• Sixth Prize
  Keith Muscutt
  Santa Cruz, California, USA
  Crystals of propionamide in optically isotropic medium (100x)
  Polarized Light Illumination

• Seventh Prize
  Harlan H. Baker
  Ames, Iowa, USA
  Crystals in quenched steel in a matrix of austenite (600x)
  Polarized Light, using sensitive tint illumination

• Eighth Prize
  Carl G. Pearson
  Oroville, California, USA
  Mosquito larvae (30x)
  35-millimeter camera and bellows, illuminated by electronic flash

• Ninth Prize
  Bronislaw Rakiewicz
  Hamilton, Ontario
  Ascorbic acid dissolved in alcohol (39x)
  Polarized Light Illumination

• Tenth Prize
  Robert C. Turner
  San Diego, California, USA
  Dense central core of mucus (320x)
  Brightfield Illumination

• Eleventh Prize
  William A. Sokol
  Culver City, California, USA
  Sulphonal crystal (40x)
  Polarized Light Illumination

• Twelfth Prize
  David Gnizak
  Independence, Ohio, USA
  Recrystallized fluorescein (55x)
  Transmitted light with Nomarski Differential Interference Contrast

• Thirteenth Prize
  Gary Wayne Cox
  Fullerton, California, USA
  Tapeworm found in carnivores (50x)
  Hoffman Modulation Contrast

• Fourteenth Prize
  George Brangan
  Westlake Village, California, USA
  Crystal of pharmaceutical chemical Pontocaine (25x)
  Polarized Light Illumination

• Fifteenth Prize
  Ralph L. Shook
  Hemet, California, USA
  Leaf whole mount, Pittosporum (31x)
  Transmitted Polarized Light Illumination

• Sixteenth Prize
  Marvin E. Lehrman
  Chicago, Illinois, USA
  Single strand of couch grass sprayed with fluorescent paint (20x)
  Ultraviolet Illumination

• Seventeenth Prize
  Joseph A. Josephs
  Memphis, Tennessee, USA
  Roundworm in sputum (400x)
  Brightfield Illumination

• Eighteenth Prize
  Joseph A. Josephs
  Memphis, Tennessee, USA
  Roundworm in sputum (400x)
  Brightfield Illumination

• Nineteenth Prize
  Walter S. Jenkins
  Clarkston, Georgia, USA
  Section through wheatstem (100x)
  Brightfield with Eastman PCF film developed in C-22

• Twentieth Prize
  James M. Bell
  Tarrytown, New York, USA
  Living mosquito larva showing internal structure of head (50x)
  Polarized Light Illumination

The Nikon Small World Competition is open to anyone with an interest in photography through the microscope. Truly international in scope, entries have been received from the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Winners have included both professionals and hobbyists.

The subject matter for this year's contest is unrestricted and any type of light microscopy technique is acceptable, including phase contrast, polarized light, fluorescence, interference contrast, darkfield, confocal, deconvolution, and mixed techniques. Entries submitted to Nikon are then judged by an independent panel of experts who are recognized authorities in the area of photomicrography and photography. These entries are judged on the basis of originality, informational content, technical proficiency and visual impact.

For the first time, entries may be submitted either on film (in 35 millimeter transparency format) or uploaded digitally through your web browser. The links below provide options for entering the contest.

Digital Entries - Entrants may enter Nikon's Small World Competition by uploading digital images directly to our servers. Before you begin, read the Contest Rules and prepare your images for uploading according to the instructions. You may also download a 2008 Competition Entry Form in portable document format for submission of entries by mail.

Prize List - Winners will receive one of 20 prizes, sorted according to rank in the competition. First place is a vacation trip valued at $5000 (US) or the equivalent amount of photographic, scientific, or industrial equipment and accessories at their suggested retail selling prices in the USA. Honorable mention winners will receive an 16 x 20-inch print of their entries.