From an arranged diatom image resembling a Christmas tree to the trachea of a scolopendrid, the photomicrographs in the 19th annual Small World contest covered a wide spectrum of disciplines. Judges for the 1993 competition were Thomas J. Covatta (Smith Klein Beecham), E. Laura Stocker (Naval Air Warfare Center), Francis W. Doane (University of Toronto), and Martin L. Scott (Scientific Imaging).

• First Prize
  Ron Sturm
  Construction Technology Laboratories, Inc.
  Skokie, Illinois, USA
  Fossil Fusulinids in limestone (8x)
  Polarized Light

• Second Prize
  Lars Bech
  Deurne, The Netherlands
  Rutin, from Eucalyptus Macroryncha in methanol (30x)
  Polarized Light

• Third Prize
  Edward Tan
  Department of Botany
  University of Washington
  Seattle, Washington, USA
  Lycopodium rhizome (24x)
  Polarized Light

• Fourth Prize
  Christian Gautier
  JACANA
  Paris, France
  Corallum rubrum (14x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Fifth Prize
  Norman J. Barker, RBP
  School of Medicine
  Johns Hopkins University
  Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  Section of blue-green algae fossil (10x)
  Brightfield

• Sixth Prize
  Robert A. Edahl, Jr.
  NASA - Langley Research Center
  Hampton, Virginia, USA
  Sprayed powdered aluminum metallographically polished and etched (18x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Seventh Prize
  Dr. Stephen F. Lowry
  Department of Biology
  University of Ulster
  Londonderry, Northern Ireland
  Live specimen of Daphnia pulex in filtered pond-water (10x)
  Darkfield

• Eighth Prize
  Robert L. Calentine
  University of Wisconsin
  River Falls, Wisconsin, USA
  Living treehopper nymph (Membracidae) (7x)
  Brightfield

• Ninth Prize
  Marc Van Hove
  Centexbel
  Zw˙naarde, Belgium
  Broken glass fiber yarn with polyester covering (10x)
  Brightfield

• Tenth Prize
  John I. Koivula
  Gemological Institute of America
  Santa Monica, California, USA
  Petrified compacted reed (10x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Eleventh Prize
  Nancy Kedersha
  ImmunoGen, Inc.
  Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  Triple exposure of human squamous skin cancer cell culture (125x)
  Fluorescence

• Twelfth Prize
  Wutian Wu
  Department of Neurosurgery
  Eastern Virginia Medical School
  Norfolk, Virginia, USA
  Crystals of ciliary neurotrophic factor (20x)
  Polarized Light

• Thirteenth Prize
  William R. West, FBPA
  Carolina Biological Supply Company
  Burlington, North Carolina, USA
  Diatom frustule arrangement (30x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Fourteenth Prize
  Patricia Barber, RBP
  Shriners Hospital, Tampa Unit
  Tampa, Florida, USA
  Intestinal lining of a soft shell turtle (250x)
  Brightfield

• Fifteenth Prize
  John I. Koivula
  Gemological Institute of America
  Santa Monica, California, USA
  Hexagonal growth depression on the surface of a crystal of yttrium aluminate (40x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Sixteenth Prize
  Gail MacKenzie
  ImmunoGen, Inc.
  Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  Triple exposure of melanoma and carcinoma cell culture (125x)
  Fluorescence

• Seventeenth Prize
  Derek Hull
  Department of Materials Science and Engineering
  University of Liverpool
  Liverpool, England
  Fracture surface of mica (100x)
  Brightfield

• Eighteenth Prize
  Keith A. Yagaloff, Ph.D.
  Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc.
  Nutley, New Jersey, USA
  Sodium vanadate crystal (25x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Nineteenth Prize
  Christian Gautier
  JACANA
  Paris, France
  Trachea of a scolopendrid (25x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Twentieth Prize
  Stella Tsirka
  Department of Pharmacology
  State University of New York
  Stony Brook, New York, USA
  In situ hybridization of a mid-gestational embryonic mouse eye (100x)
  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.