With 11 winning entries coming from specimens photographed in polarized light, the 24th annual Small World contest demonstrated the diversity of materials that could be studied with this illumination technique. Judges for the 1998 contest were Simon C. Watkins (University of Pittsburgh), James E. Stautzenberger, Jr., (Materials Engineering Institute), Colin S. Izzard (SUNY, Albany), and Martin L. Scott (Scientific Imaging).

• First Prize
  Jakob Zbaeren
  Inselspital
  Bern, Switzerland
  Endothelial cells (100x)
  Fluorescence, Double Exposure

• Second Prize
  Darwin Dale
  Lansing, Michigan, USA
  Verbascum blattaria (Moth Mullein) flower (3.5x)
  Scanning Illumination

• Third Prize
  Karl E. Deckart
  Eckental, Germany
  Crystallized photographic fixer (chemical used to develop film) (20x)
  Polarized Light

• Fourth Prize
  William R. West, FBPA
  Carolina Biological Supply Company
  Burlington, North Carolina, USA
  Living colony of Epistylis sp. (30x)
  Brightfield

• Fifth Prize
  Joseph G. Barabe
  McCrone Associates
  Westmont, Illinois, USA
  Carborundum polymorph inclusion in glass (13x)
  Polarized Light

• Sixth Prize
  David K. Terbush
  The George Washington University Medical Center
  Washington, District of Columbia, USA
  Melanocytes in frog skin (62.5x)
  Polarized Light

• Seventh Prize
  James E. Hayden, RBP
  Bio-Graphics
  Lansdowne, Pennsylvania, USA
  Anoplocephala perfoliata (tapeworm) in equine cecum (12.5x)
  Darkfield

• Eighth Prize
  Christian Gautier
  PHO.N.E. Photo Agency
  Ivry/Seine, France
  Down of Eleagnus sp. (150x)
  Polarized Light

• Ninth Prize
  Keith Lienhop
  Allergen Home Assessment, Inc.
  St. Peters, Missouri, USA
  Melted ammonium nitrate crystals (100x)
  Polarized Light

• Tenth Prize
  James W. Evarts
  Aztec Tool Corporation
  Edgewood, New York, USA
  Live Philodina (microscopic worm) feeding on Haematococcus algae (150x)
  Darkfield

• Eleventh Prize
  Alice Charlasch
  Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
  Thiourea, dextrose and potassium carbonate crystal formation (15x)
  Polarized Light

• Twelfth Prize
  Steven Nagar
  Department of Botany
  North Carolina State University
  Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
  Leg of a fungus gnat (50x)
  Polarized Light

• Thirteenth Prize
  Leonard J. Cannone
  American Petrographics Inc.
  Roslyn Heights, New York, USA
  Flight feather of a rock dove (pigeon) (125x)
  Polarized Light

• Fourteenth Prize
  David A. Smith
  Queensland, Australia
  Lemon drink crystal mixed with water (30x)
  Polarized Light

• Fifteenth Prize
  Hao-ming Siu
  HMS Architectural Design
  Louisville, Kentucky, USA
  Red metallic ribbon
  microfilaments (10x)
  Brightfield

• Sixteenth Prize
  Alice Shumsiu
  Department of Medicine
  University of Louisville
  Louisville, Kentucky, USA
  Vacant egg sac of a butterfly (10x)
  Brightfield

• Seventeenth Prize
  Waldemar Bronakowski
  Chicago, Illinois, USA
  Flower filament (5x)
  Darkfield

• Eighteenth Prize
  James W. Evarts
  Aztec Tool Corporation
  Edgewood, New York, USA
  Hydroquinone and sodium sulfite
  crystal formation (200x)
  Polarized Light

• Nineteenth Prize
  Ulrich Büttner
  Daimler Benz Research Center
  Ulm, Germany
  Holographic security detail on 100 Deutsche mark bank note (2.5x)
  Brightfield

• Twentieth Prize
  Nicolaas Jan van Geÿn
  Roosendaal, The Netherlands
  Crystallized sodium saccharinate (25x)
  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.