Entries for the 6th annual Small World contest were judged on the basis of informational content, composition, color balance, color contrast, and originality. The contest judges were Martin L. Scott (Eastman Kodak), John A. Reffner (American Cyanamid), John D. Taylor (Wayne State University), and James P. Kendrick (George Washington University).

• First Prize
  James M. King
  Marine Science Institute, University of California
  Santa Barbara, California, USA
  Larvacean within its feeding structure dyed with red organic carmine which the larvacean syphoned in while filter feeding (20x)
  Underwater camera with multiple extension tubes

• Second Prize
  William Marin Jr.
  Brookhaven National Laboratory
  Upton, New York, USA
  Titanium grid used in electron microscopy (160x)
  Epi-Illumination in combination with Transmitted Light using OG3 (red) filter

• Third Prize
  Richard H. Lee
  Argonne National Laboratory
  Argonne, Illinois, USA
  Zirconium tube, oxidized in high temperature steam, Polished and etched (26x)
  Polarized Light

• Fourth Prize
  Edward E. Manley
  Biology Department
  Southern Oregon State College
  Ashland, Oregon, USA
  Crystallization of Eosin Y stain dissolved in ethanol (32x)
  Darkfield Illumination

• Fifth Prize
  George Watchmaker
  Lawrence Livermore Laboratory
  Livermore, California, USA
  Sea urchin embryo
  Two cell state with nuclei apparent (500x)
  Nomarski Interference Contrast

• Sixth Prize
  Stephen B. Warner
  Celanese Research Company
  Summit, New Jersey, USA
  Thick cross-section of polymer pen tip
  Green color is pen ink (20x)
  Polarized Light

• Seventh Prize
  Kent P. Wood RBP
  Biomedical Communications, UAHSC
  Tucson, Arizona, USA
  Refined sugar crystals (50x)
  Polarized Light in conjuction with Rheinberg Differential Color Illumination

• Eighth Prize
  Kjeld H. Kjeldsen
  Klinisk Kemisk AFD
  Kummune Hospitalet
  Copenhagen, Denmark
  Resorcinol dissolved in water and recrystallized (125x)
  Transmitted Polarized Light

• Ninth Prize
  Dorothy Rutherford
  New York University
  New York, New York, USA
  Thin section of kidney tubules (260x)
  Darkfield Illumination

• Tenth Prize
  James Moore
  Brockway Glass Company
  Brockway, Pennsylvania, USA
  Calcium Silica Phosphate inclusion in soda-lime-silica glass (100x)
  Polarized Light

• Eleventh Prize
  James Bell
  Melrose, Massachusetts, USA
  Stained section of Sequoia redwood (125x)
  Polarized Light

• Twelfth Prize
  Deborah S. Scarff
  Rochester Institute of Technology
  Rochester, New York, USA
  Cells of onion skin, unstained (75x)
  Hoffman Modulation Contrast

• Thirteenth Prize
  Stevie Walter
  University of Arizona
  Tucson, Arizona, USA
  Brine Shrimp (40x)
  Oblique Rheinberg Illumination

• Fourteenth Prize
  Martin Zloty
  Roswell Park Memorial Institute
  Buffalo, New York, USA
  Acridine orange crystallized on diatom shells (200x)
  Darkfield Illumination

• Fifteenth Prize
  Martin Zloty
  Roswell Park Memorial Institute
  Buffalo, New York, USA
  Rotiferan Necromorphs infused with acridine orange (200x)
  Darkfield Illumination

• Sixteenth Prize
  Kamaljit S. Bawa
  University of Massachusetts
  Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  Pollen tubes on stigma and style of a cross-pollinated flower (Cephaelus Elata) (40x)
  Ultraviolet Illumination

• Seventeenth Prize
  Paul W. Johnson
  University of Rhode Island
  Narragansett, Rhode Island, USA
  Mat of filamentous cyanobacterial (Blue-Green Algea) (160x)
  Nomarski Differential Interference Contrast

• Eighteenth Prize
  Stephen B. Warner
  Celanese Research Company
  Summit, New Jersey, USA
  Polyester textile fibers (100x)
  Polarized Light

• Nineteenth Prize
  Cindy Lott
  Mote Marine Laboratory
  Sarasota, Florida, USA
  Hydromedusae larva devouring anchoas mitcholli post larvae (20x)
  Fiber Optic Illumination

• Twentieth Prize
  William H. Love
  University of California
  Berkeley, California, USA
  Titanium coated polyester monofilament mesh (110x)
  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.