Illumination techniques utilized by the winners of the 9th annual Small World contest included polarized light, darkfield, differential interference contrast (DIC), brightfield, fluorescence, and Rheinberg illumination. Judging the contest were Martin L. Scott (Eastman Kodak), Nina Strömgren Allen (Dartmouth College), Charles P. Hodge (Montreal Neurological Institute), and David Gnizak (Ferro Corporation).

• First Prize
  Jon D. Eisenback
  North Carolina State University, Department of Plant Pathology
  Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
  Silverberry scaly hair whole mount (400x)
  Brightfield

• Second Prize
  Gloria E. Hoffman
  University of Rochester, Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine & Dentistry
  Rochester, New York, USA
  Parasagittal section of mouse brain through hypothalamus
  Immunocytochemical stain for luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (25x)
  Darkfield

• Third Prize
  Robert L. Calentine
  University of Wisconsin
  River Falls, Wisconsin, USA
  Living water mite, water mount (20x)
  Brightfield

• Fourth Prize
  Donna Marie DeCarlo
  University of Rhode Island, Department of Zoology
  Kingston, Rhode Island, USA
  Onchomiracidia larvae of monogenetic trematode (Diclidophora denticulata) (85x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Fifth Prize
  Arthur Strange
  Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
  Scale from emperor angelfish (Pomacanthus Imperator) Dry mounted (20x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Sixth Prize
  Jeff Oster
  Rice Research Foundation
  Biggs, California, USA
  Fungus growth on beetle, stained with lactophenol cotton blue (300x)
  Darkfield

• Seventh Prize
  Marian Ann Daisley
  Charing Cross Hospital Medical School
  London, England
  Cross-section of Manna grass (96x)
  Epi-fluorescence

• Eighth Prize
  Terry Ashley
  University of Tennessee, Department of Anatomy
  Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
  Leaf scales of olive (Eleagnus) (320x)
  Darkfield

• Ninth Prize
  John I. Koivula
  Santa Monica, California, USA
  Star bursts of rutile nucleated from fluorapatite centers included in a faceted, 16.25 carat garnet (35x)
  Darkfield with Oblique Fiber Optic Illumination

• Tenth Prize
  Gary Nichols
  McCrone Research Associates Ltd.
  London, England
  Single crystal of barium titanate with impurities mounted in immersion oil (28x)
  Polarized Light

• Eleventh Prize
  Dennis F. Weber
  University of Illinois, College of Dentistry
  Chicago, Illinois, USA
  Basal end of growing rat incisor
  Stained ground section of plastic embedded tissue (160x)
  Brightfield

• Twelfth Prize
  Gloria D. Hoffman
  University of Rochester, School of Medicine & Dentistry
  Rochester, New York, USA
  Mouse brain cell containing somatostatin peptide revealed with immunocytochemical techniques (250x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Thirteenth Prize
  Richard V. Laughton
  Pollutech Limited
  Oakville, Ontario, Canada
  Live, colonial ciliate (Vorticella protozoa) of abnormal size (100x)
  Darkfield

• Fourteenth Prize
  William A. Turner
  Wayne State University, Department of Biological Sciences
  Detroit, Michigan, USA
  A melanophore surrounded by smaller orange xanthophores in the dermis of a killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) scale (163x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Fifteenth Prize
  Eileen Rose Roux
  Bob Hope International Heart Research Institute
  Seattle, Washington, USA
  Mid-section of a bumble bee tongue (Apis sp) wet mounted with glycerol (20x)
  Epi-fluorescence

• Sixteenth Prize
  Lars Bech
  Academisch Medisch Centrum
  Amsterdam, Holland
  Combination of urea, phosphor acid, ammonia melted (25x)
  Polarized Light

• Seventeenth Prize
  James W. Evarts
  Aztec Tool Corp.
  Freeport, New York, USA
  Crystal of sodium sulfite hydroquinone (140x)
  Polarized Light

• Eighteenth Prize
  Vijai Shukla
  Texaco, Inc.
  Bellaire, Texas, USA
  Calcium sulfate crystals in matrix of small calcium-magnesium carbonate crystals in 100 million year old rock (20x)
  Polarized Light

• Nineteenth Prize
  Louis Savas
  St. Vincent Hospital, Pathology Department
  Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
  Decalcified tooth of an owl monkey, embedded in paraffin and stained with a mallory trichrome (25x)
  Brightfield

• Twentieth Prize
  Dennis Kunkel
  University of Washington, Department of Botany
  Seattle, Washington, USA
  Live red alga, (Antithamnion), showing dichotomus branching and cytoplasmic compartmentalization (40x)
  Darkfield

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.