The 23rd annual Nikon International Small World Competition drew entrants from around the world as well as from a diverse range of academic and professional disciplines. Winners came from such fields as chemistry, electronics, biology, genetics, pathology, materials research, botany, and biotechnology. Judges for the 1997 Small World Competition were Dr. Kenneth C. Moore (University of Iowa), William R. West (Carolina Biological Supply Co.), Joseph G. Barabe (McCrone Associates), and Martin L. Scott (Scientific Imaging).

• First Prize
  Barbara A. Danowski
  Department of Biology
  Union College
  Schenectady, New York, USA
  Mouse fibroblasts (160x)
  Fluorescence

• Second Prize
  Stephen Rogers
  Department of Cell and Structural Biology
  University of Illinois
  Urbana, Illinois, USA
  Xenopus melanophore (3200x)
  Fluorescence, Confocal

• Third Prize
  K.G. Murti
  St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
  Memphis, Tennessee, USA
  HeLa cells (300x)
  Fluorescence, Confocal

• Fourth Prize
  David K. Terbush
  The George Washington University Medical Center
  Washington, District of Columbia, USA
  Ctenocephalides (flea) (10x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Fifth Prize
  Marc Van Hove
  Centexbel
  Zwÿnaarde, Belgium
  Drop of water on reflective material (10x)
  Polarized Light

• Sixth Prize
  Kevin A. Edwards
  University of Hawaii
  Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
  Salivary gland chromosomes of Dropsophila heteroneura (Hawaiian fruit fly) (300x)
  Fluorescence, Confocal

• Seventh Prize
  Dennis Kunkel
  Pacific Biomedical Research Center
  University of Hawaii
  Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
  Vegetative stages of Valonia and Botryocladia sp. (green and red algae) (20x)
  Darkfield

• Eighth Prize
  James W. Evarts
  Aztec Tool Corporation
  Edgewood, New York, USA
  Live paramecium feeding on Haematococcus algae (150x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

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

• Tenth Prize
  William T. Rice
  Orlando, Florida, USA
  Sodium carbonate and sodium metaborate crystal formation (27x)
  Polarized Light

• Eleventh Prize
  Marna E. Ericson, Sonny Worel and Maria Hordinsky
  Department of Dermatology
  University of Minnesota
  Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
  Nerves and blood vessels of a hair follicle (100x)
  Fluorescence, Confocal

• Twelfth Prize
  Heiti Paves
  Laboratory of Molecular Genetics
  Tallinn, Estonia
  Trichomes and epidermis of a Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) leaf (50x)
  Fluorescence

• Thirteenth Prize
  Sükrü Yilmaz
  Heinrich Hertz Institute
  Berlin, Germany
  Crystallized polymer (200x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Fourteenth Prize
  M.I. (Spike) Walker
  Microworld Services
  Penkridge, Staffordshire, England
  Section of Rachiopteris tridentata (fern root) embedded in coal (6.3x)
  Polarized Light

• Fifteenth Prize
  Kevin A. Edwards
  University of Hawaii
  Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
  Cells within developing egg chamber of Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) (130x)
  Fluorescence, Confocal

• Sixteenth Prize
  Christian Gautier
  PHO.N.E. Photo Agency
  Ivry/Seine, France
  Larva of Gasterophilus equi (20x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Seventeenth Prize
  Karl E. Deckart
  Eckental, Germany
  Gear-wheel of a watch (10x)
  Brightfield/DIC

• Eighteenth Prize
  Steve Paddock
  Department of Molecular Biology
  University of Wisconsin
  Madison, Wisconsin, USA
  Third instar of a Drosophila wing imaginal disc (500x)
  Fluorescence,Confocal

• Nineteenth Prize
  Stefan Eberhard
  Complex Carbohydrate Research Center
  University of Georgia
  Athens, Georgia, USA
  Crystallized folic acid (16x)
  Polarized Light

• Twentieth Prize
  Norman Barker, RPB
  The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  Baltimore, Maryland, USA
  Microchip (20x)
  Brightfield

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.