Illumination techniques used by microscopists in the 11th annual Small World contest included differential interference contrast (DIC), polarized light, oblique, reflected, brightfield, fluorescence, darkfield, and Rheinberg illumination. Judges for the 1984 competition were Skip Palenik (McCrone Associates), Martin L. Scott (Eastman Kodak), Nile Root (Rochester Institute of Technology), and James A. Dvorak (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases).

• First Prize
  John I. Kolvula
  Gemological Institute of America
  Santa Monica, California, USA
  Inclusions of goethite and hematite in Brazilian agate (30x)
  Transmitted light with reflected fiber-optic illumination

• Second Prize
  Pentti J. Alho
  Helsinki, Finland
  Colony of Plumatella in water preparation (16x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Third Prize
  William H. Love
  University of California
  Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
  Berkeley, California, USA
  Cross section of superconducting magnet wire etched with nitric acid (150x)
  Brightfield

• Fourth Prize
  Dr. George Nyman
  C. Riechert AG
  Wien, Austria
  Thin section of diseased cat brain (250x)
  Fluorescence

• Fifth Prize
  Dr. Jon D. Eisenback
  North Carolina State University
  Department of Plant Pathology
  Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
  Whole mount of myxomycete (sp. Dictydium Cancellatum), a bird cage fungus (16x)
  Darkfield

• Sixth Prize
  Per H. Kjeldsen
  University of Michigan
  Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
  Slow melt of meso-erythriol (40x)
  Polarized Light

• Seventh Prize
  Dennis D. Kunkel
  University of Washington
  Department of Botany
  Seattle, Washington, USA
  Live water mount showing asexual reproductive cells of green algae (sp. Acetabularia) (24x) Darkfield

• Eighth Prize
  Richard N. Feinberg, Ph.D & Greg Holmes,
  UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, Department of Anatomy
  Newark, New Jersey, USA
  4½-day chicken embryo injected with india ink showing vascular system (14x)
  Transmitted Light and Oblique Illumination

• Ninth Prize
  Dr. Andrew Hepher
  University of Durham, Department of Botany
  Durham, England, UK
  Pollen germinating on Salpiglossis sinuata (50x)
  Fluorescence

• Tenth Prize
  James Bell
  Peace River Films
  Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  Living filmanetous marine algae with large chloroplasts (150x)
  Polarized Light

• Eleventh Prize
  Ronald C. Bohn, Ph.D
  George Washington University
  Medical Center
  Washington, D.C.
  Cell bodies and dendritic arborizations of ventral horn neurons in frog spinal cord (62x)
  Darkfield

• Twelfth Prize
  Paul E. Danielson
  Teledyne Wah Chang Albany
  Albany, Oregon, USA
  Etched and heat-tinted hafnium crystal bar (200x)
  Polarized Light

• Thirteenth Prize
  Eve Vanderweit
  Colorado State University
  Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
  Urea crystals dissolved and allowed to recrystallize (20x)
  Polarized Light

• Fourteenth Prize
  Samuel D. Serena
  MEDCOM/TRAINEX
  Garden Grove, California, USA
  Claw of louse (sp. Phthirus pubis) showing muscle attachment to exoskeleton (125x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Fifteenth Prize
  Dennis D. Kunkel
  University of Washington
  Department of Botany
  Seattle, Washington, USA
  Live water mount showing asexual reproduction of green alga, (sp. Volvox) (25x)
  Darkfield

• Sixteenth Prize
  Per H. Kjeldsen
  University of Michigan
  Ann Arbor, Michgian, USA
  Fast melt of 2,4 dinitrophenyl hydrazine (30x)
  Polarized Light

• Seventeenth Prize
  William Marin
  Brookhaven National Laboratory
  Upton, New York, USA
  Ancient bronze specimen from Thailand showing metal and corrosion interface (400x)
  Brightfield

• Eighteenth Prize
  Helena C. Arteta
  U.S. Naval Hospital
  Bethesda, Maryland, USA
  Skin with sialastic implant (100x)
  Differential Interface Contrast

• Nineteenth Prize
  Samuel F. Pellicori
  Santa Barbara Research Center
  Goleta, California, USA
  Vacuum-deposited multi-layers of thin films of zinc sulfide and germanium on improperly-cleaned substrate (200x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Twentieth Prize
  William Edward Schadel
  North Carolina State University
  Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
  Sporangia of climbing fern, (sp. Lygodium) stained with safranin (20x)
  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.