This Year’s Small World Photo Contest Unveils the Astounding Details Only Visible Under the Light Microscope

Long-bodied cellar/daddy long-legs spider (Pholcus phalangioides), Dr. Andrew Posselt. 4th place. All images courtesy of Nikon Small World, shared with permission

For 48 years the Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition has garnered some of the most awe-inspiring and illuminated images of all that’s visible once placed under a light microscope. The 2022 contest continues the tradition with a captivating collection that exposes the minuscule details of life on Earth. Winning images zero in on the prickly hairs covering a daddy long-legs, the trippy patterns of a marine snail’s tongue, and the tessellation-like heads of a slime mold. This year’s top photos were selected from more than 1,300 entries from 72 countries, and you can see some of our favorites below. Peruse the entire collection on the competition’s site.

 

This Year’s Small World Photo Contest Unveils the Astounding Details Only Visible Under the Light Microscope

Radula (rasping tongue) of a marine snail (Turbinidae family), Dr. Igor Siwanowicz. Honorable mention.

This Year’s Small World Photo Contest Unveils the Astounding Details Only Visible Under the Light Microscope

Unburned particles of carbon released when the hydrocarbon chain of candle wax breaks down, Ole Bielfeldt. 6th place.

This Year’s Small World Photo Contest Unveils the Astounding Details Only Visible Under the Light Microscope

Cross sections of normal human colon epithelial crypts, Dr. Ziad El-Zaatari. 15th place.

This Year’s Small World Photo Contest Unveils the Astounding Details Only Visible Under the Light Microscope

Embryonic hand of a Madagascar giant day gecko (Phelsuma grandis), Grigorii Timin & Dr. Michel Milinkovitch. First place

This Year’s Small World Photo Contest Unveils the Astounding Details Only Visible Under the Light Microscope

A fly under the chin of a tiger beetle, Murat Öztürk. 10th place.

This Year’s Small World Photo Contest Unveils the Astounding Details Only Visible Under the Light Microscope

Slime mold (Lamproderma), Alison Pollack. 5th place.

This Year’s Small World Photo Contest Unveils the Astounding Details Only Visible Under the Light Microscope

Butterfly egg, Ye Fei Zhang. Honorable mention.

This Year’s Small World Photo Contest Unveils the Astounding Details Only Visible Under the Light Microscope

Ammophila arenaria (grass stem), Anatoly Mikhaltsov. Image of distinction.

This Year’s Small World Photo Contest Unveils the Astounding Details Only Visible Under the Light Microscope

Paper wasp stinger, Pablo Piedra. Image of distinction.

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