Images of specimens entered into the 2005 Small World contest included insects, recrystallized chemicals and biochemicals, fluorescently labeled tissue sections, plants, various microorganisms, liquid crystals, and fibers. Judges for the 31st annual contest were Jennifer C. Waters (Harvard Medical School), Todd James (National Geographic), Emily Harrison (Scientific American), and Alexey Khodjakov (Wadsworth Center).

• First Prize
  Charles B. Krebs
  Charles Krebs Photography
  Issaquah, Washington, USA
  Muscoid fly (house fly) (6.25x)
  Reflected light

• Second Prize
  Thomas J. Deerinck
  National Center for Microscopy & Imaging Research
  University of California – San Diego
  La Jolla, California, USA
  Quantum dot fluorescence image of mouse kidney section (240x)
  Fluorescence (2-photon)

• Third Prize
  Stefan Eberhard
  Complex Carbohydrate Research Center
  University of Georgia
  Athens, Georgia, USA
  Crystallized Vitamin A (40x)
  Polarized light

• Fourth Prize
  Edy Kieser
  Ennenda, Switzerland
  Crystallized succinic acid and urea (50x)
  Polarized light

• Fifth Prize
  Neil J. Egan
  PPG Industries
  Cleveland, Ohio, USA
  Bacteria growth in Petri dish (30x)
  Stereomicroscopy

• Sixth Prize
  Margaret N. Oechsli
  Jewish Hospital, Heart & Lung Institute
  Louisville, Kentucky, USA
  Phenyl threonine (20x)
  Brightfield

• Seventh Prize
  Dr. Shirley A. Owens
  Center for Advanced Microscopy
  Michigan State University
  East Lansing, Michigan, USA
  Carpet fibers (20x)
  Fluorescence and polarized light

• Eighth Prize
  Thomas J. Deerinck
  National Center for Microscopy & Imaging Research
  University of California – San Diego
  La Jolla, California, USA
  Quantum dot fluorescence image of mouse small intestine (120x)
  Fluorescence (2-photon)

• Ninth Prize
  Dr. John M. Huisman
  Murdoch University
  Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia
  Chaetomorpha antennina (seaweed) (20x)
  Brightfield

• Tenth Prize
  Susan Johnson
  CSIRO Plant Industry, Horticulture Unit
  Glen Osmond, South Australia, Australia
  Vitis vinifera (grape) (10x)
  Darkfield

• Eleventh Prize
  Ron J. Oldfield
  Department of Biological Sciences
  Macquarie University
  Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  Lepidozia sp. (a liverwort) spores and elaters (100x)
  Brightfield

• Twelfth Prize
  Edy Kieser
  Ennenda, Switzerland
  Crystallized potassium chlorate (40x)
  Polarized light

• Thirteenth Prize
  Chiedozie Ukachukwu
  Biomedical Photographic Communications Student
  Student at the Rochester Institute of Technology
  Rochester, New York, USA
  Bryozoan Statoblast (diminutive aquatic animal of the phylum Bryozoa) (10x)
  Darkfield

• Fourteenth Prize
  Dr. Paul D. Andrews
  Division of Gene Regulation and Expression, School of Life Sciences
  University of Dundee
  Dundee, UK
  Xenopus (frog) XLK2 cell (100x)
  Fluorescence and deconvolution

• Fifteenth Prize
  Dr. Shumel Silberman
  Ramat Gan, Israel
  Geranium flower (20x)
  Fiber optic illumination

• Sixteenth Prize
  Dr. Donald W. Pottle
  The Schepens Eye Research Institute
  Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  Crystalline formations from evaporated contact lens solution (400x)
  Differential interference contrast

• Seventeenth Prize
  Jan Schmoranzer
  Columbia University
  New York, New York, USA
  NIH 3T3 fibroblasts (mouse cells) (600x)
  Fluorescence

• Eighteenth Prize
  Dr. Christian Bohley
  Department of Experimental Physics
  Otto-von-Guericke-University of Magdeburg
  Magdeburg, Germany
  Cholesteric phase of 55% CB15 in E48 (substance used in manufacture of Liquid Crystal Displays) (100x)
  Polarized light

• Nineteenth Prize
  Ian C. Walker
  Huddersfield, UK
  Feather of a Dominican Cardinal Bird (25x)
  Crossed-polars Rheinberg illumination

• Twentieth Prize
  Dr. Oliver Skibbe
  AlgaTerra Information System
  Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Berlin-Dahlem
  Berlin, Germany
  Living diatoms— Pinnularia sp. (Bacillariophyceae) (250x)
  Differential interference contrast

Honorable Mentions

• Honorable Mention
  Tracy E. Anderson
  Imaging Center
  College of Biological Sciences
  University of Minnesota
  St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
  Velcro® being pulled apart (94x)
  Stereomicroscopy with epi-ring illumination

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Marie-Hélène Bré
  Laboratory of Cellular Biology
  University of Paris, South
  Orsay, France
  Tetrahymena thermophila (protozoa) cells (1500x)
  Confocal

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Alistair M. Dove
  Marine Sciences Research Center
  Stony Brook University
  Stony Brook, New York, USA
  Homarus americanus (American lobster) larvae (40x)
  Stereomicroscopy (Episcopic)

• Honorable Mention
  Conor L. Evans and Eric O. Potma
  Xie Research Group
  Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
  Harvard University
  Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  CARS interferometry of dodecane droplets in water (40x)
  Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS)

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Patrick C. Hickey
  LUX Biotechnology Ltd.
  Edinburgh, UK
  Hyphal tips of Neurospora crassa (a filamentous fungus) (20x)
  Confocal

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Dennis D. Kunkel
  Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc.
  Kailua, Hawaii, USA
  Crystallized ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) and sucrose (40x)
  Polarized light

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Stephen S. Nagy
  Montana Diatoms
  Clancy, Montana, USA
  Fossil marine diatom, Actinoptychus heliopelta (900x)
  Jamin-Lebedeff interference contrast

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Nasser M. Rusan
  University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
  Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
  LLCPK1 (pig epithelial) cells (1000x)
  Confocal, epi-fluorescence, and deconvolution

• Honorable Mention
  Catherine Russell and Amanda Leach
  Department of Polymer Science and Engineering
  University of Massachusetts Amherst
  Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
  Electric field placed across layers of polydimethyl siloxane and polystyrene on a polished silicon wafer (60x)
  Reflected light

• Honorable Mention
  Spike Walker
  Microworld Services
  Penkridge, UK
  Film of supersaturated solution scratched with a needle (4x)
  Rheinberg illumination and polarized light

2005 IMAGES OF DISTINCTION

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.

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 $3000 (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.