Images of specimens entered into the 2007 Small World contest included insects, recrystallized chemicals and biochemicals, fluorescently labeled tissue sections, insects, plants, various microorganisms, liquid crystals, and fibers. Judges for the 33rd annual contest were Thomas Deerinck (University of California, San Diego), Nicole Dyer (Popular Science), John Hart (University of Colorado, Boulder), Malcolm Ritter (Associated Press), and Daniel Sieberg (CBS News).

• First Prize
  Gloria Kwon
  Memorial Sloan-Kettering Insititute
  New York City, New York, USA
  Double transgenic mouse embryo, 18.5 days (17x)
  Brightfield, Darkfield, Fluorescence

• Second Prize
  Michael Hendricks
  Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory
  National University of Singapore
  Kent Ridge, Singapore
  Zebrafish embryo midbrain and diencephalon (20x)
  Confocal

• Third Prize
  Wim van Egmond
  Micropolitan Museum
  Rotterdam, Netherlands
  Testudinella sp. (400x)
  Differential interference contrast

• Fourth Prize
  Charles Krebs
  Charles Krebs Photography
  Issaquah, Washington, USA
  Marine diatoms attached to Polysiphonia alga (100x)
  Differential interference contrast

• Fifth Prize
  Peter Parks
  Image Quest 3-D
  Whitney, UK
  Sea water with mixed zooplankton and needle eye (20x)
  Reflected light

• Sixth Prize
  Charles Krebs
  Charles Krebs Photography
  Issaquah, Washington, USA
  Hydrophilidae sp. (water scavenger beetle) larva (100x)
  Brightfield with crossed polarization

• Seventh Prize
  Michael Klymkowsky
  MCD Biology
  University of Colorado at Boulder
  Boulder, Colorado, USA
  Xenopus embryos (20x)
  Stereomicroscopy

• Eighth Prize
  Vera Hunnekuhl
  Department of Zoology
  University of Osnabrück
  Osnabrück, Germany
  Erpobdella octoculata (freshwater leech) (25x)
  Confocal

• Ninth Prize
  Shamuel Silberman
  Ramat Gan, Israel
  Papaver subpiriforme (corn poppies) flower bud (20x)
  Stereomicroscopy

• Tenth Prize
  Dr. Stephen Nagy
  Montana Diatoms
  Helena, Montana, USA
  Section of diseased ivory (15x)
  Polarized light

• Eleventh Prize
  Dr. Robert Markus
  Institute of Genetics
  Biological Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
  Szeged, Hungary
  Mirabilis jalapa stamen and pollen (125x)
  Confocal

• Twelfth Prize
  Annette Bergter
  Department of Zoology
  University of Osnabrück
  Osnabrück, Germany
  Ophryotrocha diadema (polychaete) embryo (25x)
  Confocal

• Thirteenth Prize
  Dr. Stephen Lowry
  School of Biomedical Sciences
  University of Ulster
  Londonderry, UK
  Patella vulgaris (limpet) rasping tongue (20x)
  Polarized light

• Fourteenth Prize
  Christian Gautier
  BIOS/PHONE Photo Agency
  Le Mans, France
  Cedrus atlantica (cedar leaf) crosscut (200x)
  Polarized light

• Fifteenth Prize
  Rodrigo Mexas
  Oswaldo Cruz Foundantion
  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  Trematode sp. (400x)
  Differential interference contrast

• Sixteenth Prize
  Steven Valley
  Oregon Department of Agriculture, Plant Division
  Albany, Oregon, USA
  Mimetidae sp. (spider) egg case (30x)
  Stereomicroscopy

• Seventeenth Prize
  Dr. Jeffery Bowen
  Department of Biological Sciences
  Bridgewater State College
  East Taunton, Massachusetts, USA
  Celethemis eponina (Halloween Pennant dragonfly) (1x)
  Stereomicroscopy

• Eighteenth Prize
  Klaus Bolte
  Natural Resources Canada
  Stittsville, Canada
  Amisega floridensis (parasitic wasp) (90x)
  Stereomicroscopy

• Nineteenth Prize
  Viktor Sykora
  Institute of Pathophysiology
  Charles University
  Hyskov, Czech Republic
  Epilobium parviflorum (small-flowered willowherb) seeds (10x)
  Stereomicroscopy, darkfield

• Twentieth Prize
  Dr. Matthew Hooge
  The University of Maine
  Portland, Maine, USA
  Clione sp. (planktonic mollusc) larva (40x)
  Differential interference contrast

Honorable Mentions

• Honorable Mention
  Jesper Gronne
  Silkeborg, Denmark
  Cluster of snow crystals (10x)
  Polarized light

• Honorable Mention
  Vera Hunnekuhl
  Department of Zoology
  University of Osnabrück
  Osnabrück, Germany
  Erpobdella octoculata (freshwater leech) (10x)
  Confocal

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Daniel Kalman
  Emory University
  Atlanta, Georgia, USA
  Cell infected with poxvirus (630x)
  Deconvolution

• Honorable Mention
  Rafal Klajn
  Department of Chemical Engineering
  Northwestern University
  Evanston, Illinois, USA
  Liesegang rings obtained by reacting dichromate anions and silver cations (40x)
  Reflected Light

• Honorable Mention
  Milan Kosanovic
  Belgrade, Serbia/Montenegro
  Evaporated copper-sulphate solution on paper figure (1x)
  Polarized Light

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Pascale Lacor
  Northwestern University
  Evanston, Illinois, USA
  Mature rat hippocampal neurons attacked by Alzheimer’s toxins (100x)
  Confocal

• Honorable Mention
  Carmen Laethem
  Aerie Pharmaceuticals
  Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
  Primary porcine trabecular meshwork cells (20x)
  Fluorescence

• Honorable Mention
  Rudolf Oldenbourg
  Marine Biological Laboratory
  Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA
  Nephrotoma suturalis (crane fly) spermatocytes (100x)
  Polarized Light

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Shirley Owens
  Center for Advanced Microscopy
  Michigan State University
  East Lansing, Michigan, USA
  Cichorium intybus (Chickory) pollen (1250x)
  Confocal, fluorescence

• Honorable Mention
  Peter Parks
  Image Quest 3-D
  Whitney, UK
  Atlanta Peronii (heteropod) (170x)
  Darkfield

• Honorable Mention
  Daniel Pregibon
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  Particles used to detect multiple DNA oligomers (100x)
  Fluorescence

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Havi Sarfaty
  Ramat Gan, Israel
  Desiccated garden flower (20x)
  Stereomicroscopy

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Jan Schmoranzer
  Columbia University
  New York City, New York, USA
  Fibroblast microlayer microwound (400x)
  Fluorescence

• Honorable Mention
  Viktor Sykora
  Institute of Pathophysiology
  Charles University
  Prague, Czech Republic
  Infested leaf (5x)
  Stereomicroscopy, darkfield

• Honorable Mention
  Sven Terclavers
  VIB Center for Transgene Technology & Gene Therapy
  Campus Gasthuisberg O & N
  Leuven, Belgium
  Zebrafish (400x)
  Confocal (2-photon)

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Bob Turner
  The Scripps Research Institute
  La Jolla , California, USA
  Quartz (20x)
  Interference cross-polarization

2007 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.