Specimens entered into the 2001 Small World contest included a rotifer, mouse brain, cells in culture, fruit fly sperm, snowflakes, bat parasites, several plants, and a variety of chemical crystals. Judges for the 27th annual contest included Dr. Kenneth R. Spring (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute), James E. Hayden (Bio-Graphics), James C. Wyant (University of Arizona), and Michael W. Davidson (Florida State University).

• First Prize
  Harold Taylor
  Kensworth, UK
  Fresh water rotifer feeding among debris (200x)
  Darkfield

• Second Prize
  Max Gratrix & Dr. Nigel Woolf
  University of California, San Diego
  La Jolla, California, USA
  Sagittal section of mouse cerebellum, infected with cytomegalovirus (10x)
  Fluorescence

• Third Prize
  Karl E. Deckart
  Eckental, Germany
  Spur gear cutter (5x)
  Fiber Optic Illumination

• Fourth Prize
  John E. Hart
  Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
  University of Colorado
  Boulder, Colorado, USA
  Melted resorcinal and carbon tetrabromide crystals (33x)
  Polarized Light

• Fifth Prize
  Russell Kerschmann
  Resolution Sciences Corp.
  Corte Madera, California, USA
  Coated magazine cover (20x)
  Fluorescence

• Sixth Prize
  Dr. K. G. Murti
  St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
  Memphis, Tennessee, USA
  HeLa (cancer) cells in culture (450x)
  Fluorescence and Confocal

• Seventh Prize
  Earl K. Nishiguchi
  Kauai Community College
  Lihue, Hawaii, USA
  Sundew plant (45x)
  Darkfield

• Eighth Prize
  Karl E. Deckart
  Eckental, Germany
  Knot in fiber netting of orange sack (10x)
  Fiber optic Illumination

• Ninth Prize
  Dr. Jennifer Waters
  Wake Forest University
  Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
  Human epithelial cells, triple stained (1260x)
  Fluorescence

• Tenth Prize
  Harold Taylor
  Kensworth, UK
  Lotus flower buds (10x)
  Brightfield

• Eleventh Prize
  Stefan Eberhard
  Complex Carbohydrate Research Center
  University of Georgia
  Athens, Georgia, USA
  Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) melted with sulfur (40x)
  Polarized Light

• Twelfth Prize
  Dr. John Runions
  Department of Plant Sciences
  University of Cambridge
  Cambridge, UK
  Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) root (300x)
  Confocal and Fluorescence

• Thirteenth Prize
  Earl K. Nishiguchi
  Kauai Community College
  Lihue, Hawaii, USA
  Drosophila virilis (fruit fly) sperm (400x)
  Darkfield

• Fourteenth Prize
  Helmuth Michelbach
  Vienna, Austria
  Crystallized monomethyl-p-aminophenol sulfate (50x)
  Polarized Light, Oblique Illumination

• Fifteenth Prize
  Christian Gautier
  PHO.N.E Photo Agency
  Paris, France
  Nycteribia sp. (parasite of bat) (20x)
  Darkfield

• Sixteenth Prize
  Manuela Schaper
  Institute of Infectious Diseases
  University of Bern
  Bern, Switzerland
  Snowflake (7x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Seventeenth Prize
  Stefan Eberhard
  Complex Carbohydrate Research Center
  University of Georgia
  Athens, Georgia, USA
  Glucose crystals (16x)
  Polarized Light

• Eighteenth Prize
  Dr. Heiti Paves
  Laboratory of Molecular Genetics
  Tallinn, Estonia
  Yellow flower (10x)
  Fiber Optic Illumination

• Nineteenth Prize
  John E. Hart
  Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
  University of Colorado
  Boulder, Colorado, USA
  Melted resorcinal and carbon tetrabromide crystals (33x)
  Polarized Light

• Twentieth Prize
  Lars Bech
  Naarden, The Netherlands
  DL-acetylleucine monoethanolamine melted with p-nitrophenol (30x)
  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.