The first place photomicrograph was made from a 10-year old preparation of pharmaceuticals by noted Dutch microscopist Lars Bech. Other entries included specimens from the fields of biology, botany, chemistry, cancer research, geology, materials science, electronics, and paleontology. Contest judges were Thomas J. Hopen (McCrone Research Institute), John Paul Vetter (Western Pennsylvania Hospital), Martin L. Scott (Scientific Imaging), and David L. Spector (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory).

• First Prize
  Lars Bech
  Deurne, The Netherlands
  10-year old preparation of barbital, fenacetine, valium and acetic acid (35x)
  Polarized Light

• Second Prize
  Gail MacKenzie
  ImmunoGen Inc.
  Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  Triple exposure of melanoma and carcinoma cell culture (400x)
  Fluorescence

• Third Prize
  Waldemar Bronakowski
  Center for Agrotech & Veterinary Sciences
  Polish Academy of Science
  Olsztyn, Poland
  Daisy-unwrapped petals (5x)
  Brightfield

• Fourth Prize
  M.I. (Spike) Walker
  Microworld Services
  Penkridge, England
  Living colony of cyanobacteria Gloeotrichia echinulata (63x)
  Fluorescence

• Fifth Prize
  Christian Gautier
  JACANA
  Paris, France
  Radula Trochus zizyphinus rasper of fish parasite (100x)
  Polarized Light

• Sixth Prize
  Marc Van Hove
  Centexbel
  Zw˙naarde, Belgium
  Synthetic knit textile (10x)
  Brightfield

• Seventh Prize
  Karl E. Deckart
  Eckental-Eschenau, Germany
  German eagle on new 100 Deutsche mark bill (10x)
  Brightfield

• Eighth Prize
  M.I. (Spike) Walker
  Microworld Services
  Penkridge, England
  L. ascorbic acid (10x)
  Polarized Light

• Ninth Prize
  Dr. Kari A. Kinnunen
  Geological Survey of Finland
  Espoo, Finland
  Agate conglomerate (4x)
  Brightfield

• Tenth Prize
  Alejandro Andreatta
  UNIAX Corp.
  Santa Barbara, California, USA
  Liquid crystal ZLI 3654 (50x)
  Polarized Light

• Eleventh Prize
  Steffen Albrecht
  Department of Pathology
  Baylor College of Medicine
  Houston, Texas, USA
  Metastatic chordoma in pulmonary artery (125x)
  Brightfield

• Twelfth Prize
  William R. West, FBPA
  Carolina Biological Supply Company
  Burlington, North Carolina, USA
  Living Chilodonella sp. with ingested Pinnularia sp. (30x)
  Brightfield

• Thirteenth Prize
  George Ayoub
  Department of Neurobiology
  State University of New York
  Stony Brook, New York, USA
  Living, single reptilian cone photoreceptor (400x)
  Phase Contrast

• Fourteenth Prize
  Pentti J. Alho, M.Sc.
  Helsinki, Finland
  Sodium chloride (10.9x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Fifteenth Prize
  Howard E. Schneider
  Applied Magnetics Corporation
  Goleta, California, USA
  Stressed glass on sendust substrate (16x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Sixteenth Prize
  Sinforoso Resultay
  Department of Geology & Geophysics
  University of Calgary
  Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  Dinosaur bone (18x)
  Polarized Light

• Seventeenth Prize
  John I. Koivula
  Gemological Institute of America
  Santa Monica, California, USA
  Dinosaur bone (15x)
  Brightfield

• Eighteenth Prize
  Dr. Kari A. Kinnunen
  Geological Survey of Finland
  Espoo, Finland
  Gem beryl crystal (8x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Nineteenth Prize
  John I. Koivula
  Gemological Institute of America
  Santa Monica, California, USA
  Inclusions of rutile growing from a hematite core in Brazilian quartz (14x)
  Darkfield

• Twentieth Prize
  James W. Evarts
  Aztec International Corp.
  Freeport, New York, USA
  Crystal of sodium sulfite/hydroquinone compound (160x)
  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.