The twenty winning entries of the 17th annual Nikon International Small World Competition were displayed for the month of November, 1991, at Nikon House in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Winning photomicrographs utilized a diverse set of techniques including darkfield, polarized light, fluorescence, reflected differential interference contrast (DIC), Rheinberg illumination, and several stunning brightfield images. Judges for the 1991 competition were Cynthia A. Fitzsimons (McCrone Associates), Randy O. Wayne (Cornell University), Raymond E. Lund (Johns Hopkins), and Martin L. Scott (Scientific Imaging).

• First Prize
  Marc Van Hove
  Centexbel
  Gent, Belgium
  Polyurethane elastic fiber bundle (25x)
  Polarized Light

• Second Prize
  Nancy Kedersha
  ImmunoGen, Inc.
  Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  Triple exposure of melanoma and astrocytoma cell culture (200x)
  Fluorescence

• Third Prize
  R.B. Fellman
  Moog Inc.
  East Aurora, New York, USA
  Diffusion welded 6A1-4V-Ti to 6A1-4V-Ti with thin copper layer as a bonding aid (200x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Fourth Prize
  Michael J. Klein, M.D.
  Department of Pathology
  Mount Sinai School of Medicine
  New York, New York, USA
  Fracture of a single bone trabeculum in osteoporosis (16x)
  Polarized Light

• Fifth Prize
  M.I. (Spike) Walker
  Microworld Services
  Penkridge, Staffordshire, England
  Live desmid Micrasterias rotata (80x)
  Darkfield

• Sixth Prize
  Karl E. Deckart
  Eckental-Eschenau, Germany
  Low-voltage fed mini bulb (10x)
  Brightfield

• Seventh Prize
  James Hayden
  School of Veterinary Medicine
  University of Pennsylvania
  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
  Canine epithelium with compound hair follicles (39x)
  Darkfield

• Eighth Prize
  Fred Espinosa
  United Technologies Research Center
  East Hartford, Connecticut, USA
  Printed circuit board, glass fibers in resin matrix (200x)
  Polarized Light

• Ninth Prize
  Rodney Rappe
  3M
  Vadnais Heights, Minnesota, USA
  Corrosion site on a metallic thin film (50x)
  Darkfield

• Tenth Prize
  Eric Van Esch
  Organon International B.V.
  Oss, The Netherlands
  Dried biebrich scarlet solution (40x)
  Polarized Light

• Eleventh Prize
  Robert L. Calentine
  University of Wisconsin
  River Falls, Wisconsin, USA
  Sporangia of the slime mold Metatrichia vesparium (20x)
  Brightfield

• Twelfth Prize
  Susan Nowogrodzki
  East Greenbush, New York, USA
  Newt lung epithelial cell in mitosis (240x)
  Fluorescence

• Thirteenth Prize
  Ray Zinkowski and Albert Tousson
  Department of Cell Biology
  Birmingham, Alabama, USA
  Aberrant division of mammalian cell (500x)
  Fluorescence, computer-enhanced

• Fourteenth Prize
  Harvard Schnerdyl
  Applied Magnetics Corporation
  Goleta, California, USA
  Glasses in ferrite window (33x)
  Darkfield

• Fifteenth Prize
  Norman J. Barker
  School of Medicine
  Johns Hopkins University
  Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  Dinosaur bone fossil (10x)
  Brightfield

• Sixteenth Prize
  Andre Gorzynski
  East Amherst, New York, USA
  Old Cibachrome bleach (35x)
  Polarized Light

• Seventeenth Prize
  Richard S. Brown
  Millette Vander Wood and Associates
  Norcross, Georgia, USA
  Fusion preparation of dodeconoic acid (25x)
  Polarized Light

• Eighteenth Prize
  Andrew Syred
  Microscopix Photolibrary
  Beguildy, Powys, Wales
  Kingfisher feather mounted in euparal (40x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Nineteenth Prize
  M.I. (Spike) Walker
  Microworld Services
  Penkridge, Staffordshire, England
  Ascorbic acid crystals (12.5x)
  Polarized Light

• Twentieth Prize
  James W. Evarts
  Aztec Corporation
  Freeport, New York, USA
  Hydroquinone powder crystals (100x)
  Polarized Light

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.