The wide spectrum of disciplines representing images entered in the 14th annual Small World contest included chemistry, archaeology, biology, anatomy, metallurgy, pathology, neurology, ecology, and biotechnology. Judging the contest were James A. Dvorak (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), James M. Atkinson (Sunnybrook Medical Center), Joseph H. Groeger, Jr. (University of Connecticut), and Michael R. Peres (Rochester Institute of Technology).

• First Prize
  David Smith
  Victoria Point, Queensland, Australia
  Gold residue and gold-coated bubbles in glassy matrix (20x)
  Brightfield

• Second Prize
  Susan Staniforth
  Glaxo Group Research
  Greenford, Middlesex, England
  Antibiotic crystals (100x)
  Polarized Light

• Third Prize
  Peter C. Dartsch
  Physiological Institute I, University of Tuebingen
  Tuebingen, West Germany
  Ascorbic acid (32x)
  Polarized Light

• Fourth Prize
  George Watchmaker
  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  Livermore, California, USA
  Tip of plastic clad fiber optic pumped by helium-neon laser (64x)
  Brightfield

• Fifth Prize
  William R. West
  Carolina Biological Supply Company
  Burlington, North Carolina, USA
  Live volvox aureus in water (30x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Sixth Prize
  Pentti J. Alho
  Helsinki, Finland
  Waterflea Daphnia sp. (12x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Seventh Prize
  Karl H. Hecker
  Florida State University, Department of Chemistry
  Tallahassee, Florida, USA
  Crystallized aspirin (10x)
  Polarized Light

• Eighth Prize
  Karl E. Deckart
  Eschenau, West Germany
  Surface of electronic chip (10x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Ninth Prize
  Cynthia L. Polchow
  Northwestern University
  Chicago, Illinois, USA
  Nerve fibers in compressed frozen muscle tissue of white rat (104.96x)
  Polarized Light

• Tenth Prize
  Robert L. Calentine
  University of Wisconsin
  River Falls, Wisconsin, USA
  Whole mount of compound eyes of black fly Simullidae (33x)
  Brightfield

• Eleventh Prize
  Ulrich Buettner
  AEG-Aktiengesellschaft-Research Institute
  Ulm, West Germany
  Etched Gallium Arsenide (400x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Twelfth Prize
  John I. Koivula
  Gemological Institute of America
  Santa Monica, California, USA
  Inclusions of pyrolusite and limonite in a polished slab of Brazilian agate (14x)
  Brightfield

• Thirteenth Prize
  M.I. (Spike) Walker
  Stafford College
  Stafford, England
  Cyclonexanone oxalydihydrazone crystals (12.5x)
  Rheinberg Illumination and Polarized Light

• Fourteenth Prize
  Norman J. Barker, M.S., RBP
  Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  Department of Pathology
  Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  Fluorescien crystals (16x)
  Polarized Light

• Fifteenth Prize
  Marian Ann Daisley
  Charing Cross & Westminster Medical School
  London, England
  Cross section of orange peel with mould exploding through skin (60x)
  Fluorescence

• Sixteenth Prize
  Roland O. Marsh, Jr.
  Madigan Army Medical Center
  Tacoma, WA
  Hydroquinone and sodium thiosulfate crystals (25x)
  Polarized Light

• Seventeenth Prize
  Dennis D. Kunkel
  University of Washington, Department of Neurological Surgery
  Seattle, Washington, USA
  Crystalline formation from central nervous system excitory neurotransmitter acetylcholine (40x)
  Polarized Light

• Eighteenth Prize
  Marc Van Hove
  Centexbel, Gent, Belgium
  Polyester monofilament stencil cloth (50x)
  Polarized Light

• Nineteenth Prize
  M.I. (Spike) Walker
  Stafford College
  Stafford, England
  Sulfur crystals (10x)
  Rheinberg Illumination and Polarized Light

• Twentieth Prize
  Peter C. Dartsch
  Physiological Institute I
  University of Tuebingen
  Tuebingen, West Germany
  Filaments in cultured vascular smooth muscle cell (188x)
  Fluorescence

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.