The subject matter for the 22nd annual International Small World Competition was unrestricted and attracted a diverse set of entries that included specimens from cell biology, neuroscience, genetics, cancer research, botany, chemistry, and materials science. Judges for the 1996 contest were Kenneth C. Moore (University of Iowa), Phyllis Z. Budka (General Electric), Joseph Ogrodnick (Cornell University), and Martin L. Scott (Scientific Imaging).

• First Prize
  Lars Bech
  Naarden, The Netherlands
  Doxorubin in methanol and dimethylbenzenesulfonic acid (80x)
  Polarized Light

• Second Prize
  Brad Miller
  Washington University School of Medicine
  St. Louis, Missouri, USA
  Neurons in cerebral cortex of a six day old rat (40x)
  Fluorescence, Double Exposure

• Third Prize
  Christian Gautier
  PHO.N.E. Photo Agency
  Ivry/Seine, France
  Eggs of Branchipus diaphanus (crustacea) (40x)
  Rheinberg, Illumination

• Fourth Prize
  K.G. Murti
  St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
  Memphis, Tennessee, USA
  Two HeLa tissue culture cells in cytokinesis (250x)
  Fluorescence, Confocal

• Fifth Prize
  Brad Miller
  Washington University School of Medicine
  St. Louis, Missouri, USA
  Neuronal axons in cerebral cortex of an embryonic hamster (50x)
  Fluorescence, Double Exposure

• Sixth Prize
  Karl E. Deckart
  Eckental, Germany
  Salt crystal (10x)
  Brightfield

• Seventh Prize
  Keith A. Yagaloff, Ph.D.
  Hoffmann-La Roche
  Nutley, New Jersey, USA
  Sodium vanadate crystal (10x)
  Polarized Light / DIC

• Eighth Prize
  Christian Gautier
  PHO.N.E. Photo Agency
  Ivry/Seine, France
  Artemia salina (crustacea) (20x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Ninth Prize
  Ulrich Buettner
  Daimler Benz Research Center
  Ulm, Germany
  Indium phosphide surface (1000x)
  Brightfield / DIC

• Tenth Prize
  David K. Terbush
  The George Washington University Medical Center
  Washington, District of Columbia, USA
  Dogfish placiod scale (25x)
  Brightfield / Polarized Light

• Eleventh Prize
  Alpo Pelttari
  University of Kuopio
  Kuopio, Finland
  Crystallized Toluidine Blue staining solution (62.5x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Twelfth Prize
  N.P. Samson
  Department of Botany, Madras Christian College
  Tambaram, Madras, India
  Oryza eichingeri (wild rice) leaf epidermis (63x)
  Fluorescence

• Thirteenth Prize
  Cory Brayton, DVM
  The Hospital for Special Surgery
  New York, New York, USA
  Sodium nitrate crystals from fecal analysis solution for parasitology (100x)
  Brightfield / Polarized Light

• Fourteenth Prize
  James E. Dunnington, MD
  Pathology Associates PSC
  Lexington, Kentucky, USA
  Curschmann's Spiral in sputum specimen (40x)
  Brightfield

• Fifteenth Prize
  James E. Hayden, RBP
  Bio-Graphics
  Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, USA
  Seminiferous tubules of a transgenic rat (18.7x)
  Darkfield

• Sixteenth Prize
  Ulrich Buettner
  Daimler Benz Research Center
  Ulm, Germany
  Crush-lines in silicon nitride (200x)
  Darkfield

• Seventeenth Prize
  Karl E. Deckart
  Eckental, Germany
  Microchip (10x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Eighteenth Prize
  Ray Nelson
  Earlysville, Virgina, USA
  Progesterone and nicotinic acid melted together (450x)
  Polarized Light

• Nineteenth Prize
  Ron Sturm
  Construction Technology
  Laboratories, Inc.
  Skokie, Illinois, USA
  Salicylic acid crystals (10x)
  Polarized Light

• Twentieth Prize
  Stefan Eberhard
  Complex Carbohydrate Research Center
  University of Georgia
  Athens, Georgia, USA
  Niacinamide crystals (16x)
  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.