In 1979, Nikon held the Small World competition for the 5th time. Specimens entered by the contestants included salt crystals, green algae, mammalian tongue tissue, a newt stomach, the slime gland of a hogfish, a thin section of woody tree tissue, butterfly wing scales and a variety of recrystallized pharmaceuticals and other chemicals. Judges were Verlin Y. Yamamoto (U.S. Veterans Administation), John P. Vetter (Western Pennsylvania Hospital), Martin L. Scott (Eastman Kodak), and Rick Ellis (McCrone Associates).

• First Prize
  Paul W. Johnson
  University of Rhode Island
  Narragansett, Rhode Island, USA
  Stalked protozoan attached to a filamentous green algae with bacteria on its surface (160x)
  Nomarski Differential Interference Contrast

• Second Prize
  David Gnizak
  Ferro Corp. Technical Center
  Independence, Ohio, USA
  A broad spectrum antibiotic, doxycycline, dissolved in water and sputter coated with gold (25x)
  Transmitted Polarized Light

• Third Prize
  John V. Atkinson
  Union Carbide Corp.
  Bound Brook, New Jersey, USA
  Bisphenol-A crystallized from methanol (20x)
  Transmitted Polarized Light

• Fourth Prize
  DoSuk Duke Lee
  Cornell University
  Ithaca, New York, USA
  Recrystalized Acetotoluidine melt dissolved in organic solvent (100x)
  Double Exposed under Polarized Light

• Fifth Prize
  John C. Walsh
  London, England
  Young female water flea (Daphnia) with single egg (63x)
  Rheinberg Illumination with blue central stop

• Sixth Prize
  Franco G. Frezzato
  Bergamo (Redona), Itlay
  Franxinus (timber). Thin section mounted in Canada balsam (31x)
  Polarized Light

• Seventh Prize
  Christine Skirius
  McCrone Research Institute
  Chicago, Illinois, USA
  Alizarin crimson pigment, recrystalized from solvents used in authenticating paintings (24x)
  Polarized Light

• Eighth Prize
  J. Jackal
  Westfield, New Jersey, USA
  Micro mount hydrous calcium sulfate (25x)
  Off axis reflected light technique

• Ninth Prize
  Dorothy Rutherford
  New York University
  Newt stomach (30x)
  Dark Contrast Phase - Rheinberg Illumination

• Tenth Prize
  David Gnizak
  Ferro Corp. Technical Center
  An antibiotic, doxycycline, dissolved in water and sputter coated with gold (55x)
  Vertical Illumination with Nomarski Differential Interference Contrast

• Eleventh Prize
  Harriet Goldstein
  Interhealth
  San Diego, California, USA
  Unstained butterfly wing showing morphology of single free scales (450x)
  Transmitted Light

• Twelfth Prize
  Alyce Eisenhouer
  Richford, Vermont, USA
  Unicolor E-6 bleach crystals (50x)
  Polarized Light

• Thirteenth Prize
  W. William Nash
  Pomona, California, USA
  Etched silicon, single crystal (100x)
  Incident Light with Nomarski Differential Contrast

• Fourteenth Prize
  Susan M. Daley
  Rochester Institute of Technology
  Rochester, New York, USA
  Muscle tissue in tongue (40x)
  Brightfield Illumination

• Fifteenth Prize
  Lisa R. Grillone
  New York University
  New York, New York, USA
  Exquisetum root (20x)
  Darkfield Illumination

• Sixteenth Prize
  John E. Turner
  Chicago, Illinois, USA
  Pollen grains of Oenothera biennis mounted in glycerin jelly with methyl green stain (50x)
  Darkfield Illumination

• Seventeenth Prize
  James W. Fontaine
  University of Rhode Island
  Narragansett, Rhode Island, USA
  Crystal of neutral red dye precipated on fungal zoospore in sea water (100x)
  Nomarski Differential Interference Contrast

• Eighteenth Prize
  Scott Mitchener
  San Carlos, California, USA
  Slide from small section of another slide. Finger holding grass (X-Not recorded)
  Interference (Hoffman prism) with Polarized Light

• Nineteenth Prize
  Gerald W. Tonkovich
  University of Illinois
  Springfield, Illinois, USA
  Resorcinol crystals heated and cooled quickly to recrystalize (160x)
  Nomarski Differential Interference Contrast

• Twentieth Prize
  Steve Downing
  University of Minnesota
  Duluth, Minnesota, USA
  Thread unwinding from thread cell isolated from the slime gland of a hagfish (63x)
  Rheinberg 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.