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Nikon has just announced the winners of its annual Small World Photomicrography competition, and as you can see from these stunning photographs, bigger isn't always better.

The competition is in its 42nd year and this year over 2000 people from 70 countries entered. For those that don't know, photomicrography is the practise of taking a photograph through a microscope or similar magnifying device in order to capture the intricate details of things invisible to the human eye. From the proboscis of a butterfly and the foot of a beetle to espresso coffee crystals, the pictures below give us a whole new way of looking at world. The categories are divided into winners, honorable mentions, and images of distinction, and you can find the full list on the Nikon Small World website.

More info: Nikon Small World (h/t: demilked)

#1

Fourth Place. Butterfly Proboscis

Fourth Place. Butterfly Proboscis

Jochen Schroeder Report

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Lynn Daley
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Stunning! One of the best macro shots I've ever seen. Congradulations on derserving win!

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#2

Fifth Place. Front Foot (Tarsus) Of A Male Diving Beetle

Fifth Place. Front Foot (Tarsus) Of A Male Diving Beetle

Dr. Igor Siwanowicz Report

#4

Nineteenth Place. Human Neural Rosette Primordial Brain Cells

Nineteenth Place. Human Neural Rosette Primordial Brain Cells

Dr. Gist F. Croft Report

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Charlotte Fairchild
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Looks like the Chihuly neon lights at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Quite electrical.

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Nelly Mar
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Did they take the photo through the eyepiece of microscope or what?

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michelle-quehl avatar
over opinionated
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Those “eye floaters" are just particles left over when your eyes were formed. At least that is what I was told.

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#5

Eleventh Place. Scales Of A Butterfly Wing Underside

Eleventh Place. Scales Of A Butterfly Wing Underside

Francis Sneyers Report

#6

Thirteenth Place. Poison Fangs Of A Centipede

Thirteenth Place. Poison Fangs Of A Centipede

Walter Piorkowski Report

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Yvonne Bernal
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At first glance I thought it was an animals teeth. Either way, I would not want to be bit by them!

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#7

Sixth Place. Air Bubbles Formed From Melted Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) Crystals

Sixth Place. Air Bubbles Formed From Melted Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) Crystals

Marek Mis Report

#8

Eighth Place. Wildflower Stamens

Eighth Place. Wildflower Stamens

Samuel Silberman Report

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#9

Retinal Ganglion Cells In The Whole-Mounted Mouse Retina

Retinal Ganglion Cells In The Whole-Mounted Mouse Retina

Dr. Keunyoung Kim Report

#10

Ninth Place. Espresso Coffee Crystals

Ninth Place. Espresso Coffee Crystals

Vin Kitayama & Sanae Kitayama Report

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Nicole Boivin-Chiasson
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That one to the left looks like a snakes head, and you can even see a slithering tongue sticking out!!

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#11

First Place. Four-Day-Old Zebrafish Embryo

First Place. Four-Day-Old Zebrafish Embryo

Dr. Oscar Ruiz Report

#13

Goatsbeard Flower

Goatsbeard Flower

Dr. Csaba Pintér Report

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Yvonne Bernal
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Aren't these the same flowers we pick as kids, then make a wish and blow on them?

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#14

Second Place. Polished Slab Of Teepee Canyon Agate

Second Place. Polished Slab Of Teepee Canyon Agate

Douglas L. Moore Report

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Yvonne Bernal
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Could have fooled me.... I thought it was another butterfly wing!

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#15

Seventh Place. Leaves Of Selaginella

Seventh Place. Leaves Of Selaginella

Dr. David Maitland Report

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Yvonne Bernal
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Interesting. Because of the beautiful lighting, I would never have guessed this to be a fern.

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#17

Hippocampal Neurons

Hippocampal Neurons

Dr. Wutian Wu Report

#20

Jellyfish

Jellyfish

Teresa Zgoda Report

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#21

Egg Of A Gulf Fritillary Butterfly

Egg Of A Gulf Fritillary Butterfly

David Millard Report

#22

Prolegs Of A Hairy Caterpillar Gripping A Small Branch

Prolegs Of A Hairy Caterpillar Gripping A Small Branch

James Dorey Report

#23

Interference Patterns On A Glycerin Based Soapy Solution

Interference Patterns On A Glycerin Based Soapy Solution

Haris Antonopoulos Report

#25

Beta-Alanine And Taurine Crystals

Beta-Alanine And Taurine Crystals

Matt Inman Report

#26

Gears Coupling Hind Legs Of A Planthopper Nymph

Gears Coupling Hind Legs Of A Planthopper Nymph

Dr. Igor Siwanowicz Report

#27

Twentieth Place. Cow Dung

Twentieth Place. Cow Dung

Michael Crutchley Report

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Shane Allon
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Quick Fact. Those liquid filled spores you see there are the fastest objects known to man(on earth). they accellerate faster than any bullet. This is so that the bacteria can land on a fresh piece of grass, far far away from the poo so that the cow can eat it again. Clever little spore right?

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#29

Leg Of A Water Boatman

Leg Of A Water Boatman

Marek Miś Report

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Sean Gay
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a beautiful transgender lgb..............whatever.

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#32

Wildflower Stamens

Wildflower Stamens

Samuel Silberman Report

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Daria B
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I see the octopus monster in this one. And I feel like a cat that wants to attack it! =⊙.⊙=

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#33

Twelfth Place. Human Hela Cell Undergoing Cell Division

Twelfth Place. Human Hela Cell Undergoing Cell Division

Dr. Dylan Burnette Report

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#34

Sixteenth Place. 65 Fossil Radiolarians (Zooplankton) Carefully Arranged By Hand In Victorian Style

Sixteenth Place. 65 Fossil Radiolarians (Zooplankton) Carefully Arranged By Hand In Victorian Style

Stefano Barone Report

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#38

Green Bottle Fly

Green Bottle Fly

Erno Endre Gergely Report

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Qwerty65
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If we see this much detail, it means it's big... and we need Master Chief to take it out. Seriously, it looks like something out of a Halo game.

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#39

Curvepod Fumewort (Corydalis Curvisiliqua) Seed

Curvepod Fumewort (Corydalis Curvisiliqua) Seed

David Millard Report

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#42

Fifteenth Place. Head Section Of An Orange Ladybird

Fifteenth Place. Head Section Of An Orange Ladybird

Geir Drange Report

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#43

Dentate Gyrus Of A Optically-Cleared Transgenic Mouse Brain

Dentate Gyrus Of A Optically-Cleared Transgenic Mouse Brain

Hei Ming Lai & Dr. Wutian Wu Report

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rai mei
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

so that's why mice reproduce fast, their brain also contains sperms

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#44

Testis Of A Fruit Fly

Testis Of A Fruit Fly

Christopher Large Report

#46

Microcrystal Test For Oxycodone Using Platinic Bromide Solution

Microcrystal Test For Oxycodone Using Platinic Bromide Solution

Kelly Brinsko Report

#47

Ammonite Shell

Ammonite Shell

Norm Barker Report

#49

Tenth Place. Frontonia (Showing Ingested Food, Cilia, Mouth And Trichocysts)

Tenth Place. Frontonia (Showing Ingested Food, Cilia, Mouth And Trichocysts)

Rogelio Moreno Gill Report

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#52

Deep Sea Crustacea

Deep Sea Crustacea

Dr. Tomonari Kaji Report

#53

Mouse Hand, Showing Veins

Mouse Hand, Showing Veins

Evan Darling Report

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michelle-quehl avatar
over opinionated
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How many pictures of mouse parts not attached have I seen eyes brains hands... sure multi coloured things are pretty but you didn't need to mutilate the poor creature

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#55

Diclofenac Crystals

Diclofenac Crystals

Adolfo Ruiz De Segovia Report

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michelle-quehl avatar
over opinionated
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't know what they are but I wish they were bigger it would make a good jewelry jewel

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#56

Ant Pupae

Ant Pupae

Geir Drange Report

#58

Cross Section Of Stem Of Barley

Cross Section Of Stem Of Barley

Dr. Stephen Lowry Report

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#59

Viperfish

Viperfish

Dr. Alvaro Roura Report

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#60

Early Stages Of Mouse Embryo Development

Early Stages Of Mouse Embryo Development

Dr. Gaelle Recher Report

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#61

Fourteenth Place. Mouse Retinal Ganglion Cells

Fourteenth Place. Mouse Retinal Ganglion Cells

Dr. Keunyoung Kim Report

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#62

Section Of The Cerebellum

Section Of The Cerebellum

Dr. Marc Leushacke Report

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#63

Galls Of A Mite

Galls Of A Mite

Györgyi Zséli Report

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Sean Gay
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

With blurred vision(don't go there) it looks like a road map with multi coloured fields of patchwork dreams.

#64

Surface Of Embryonic Mouse Kidney

Surface Of Embryonic Mouse Kidney

Dr. Nils Lindström Report

#65

Tintinnid Ciliate Of The Marine Plankton

Tintinnid Ciliate Of The Marine Plankton

Dr. John R. Dolan Report

#66

Hippocampal Slice Culture Stained For Neurons

Hippocampal Slice Culture Stained For Neurons

Dr. Jennifer L. Peters Report

#67

Forewing (Elytron) Of A Tiger Beetle

Forewing (Elytron) Of A Tiger Beetle

Dr. Rudolf Büchi Report

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Rudolf Büchi
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The forewing of the tiger beetle and the scale oft he forester moth are seen by the unaided human eye as a deep green. This picture with a magnification of 500x reveals that it is an additive color mixing of many color points originating from a combination of multilayer interference and dense arranged dimples in the insect cuticle.

#68

Leaves Of A Liverwort

Leaves Of A Liverwort

Magdalena Turzańska Report

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#69

Actin, Mitochondria And Dna In A Bovine Pulmonary Artery Endothelial Cell

Actin, Mitochondria And Dna In A Bovine Pulmonary Artery Endothelial Cell

Dr. Talley J. Lambert Report

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#71

Eighteenth Place. Parts Of Wing-Cover

Eighteenth Place. Parts Of Wing-Cover

Pia Scanlon Report

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#72

Jurinea Mollis Seed

Jurinea Mollis Seed

Viktor Sykora Report

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#73

Micrasterias Thomasiana

Micrasterias Thomasiana

Jacek Myslowski Report

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#75

Cross Section Of A Lily Of The Valley

Cross Section Of A Lily Of The Valley

Falco Krüger Report

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#76

Cultured Fat Cells

Cultured Fat Cells

Heiko T. Jansen Report

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#77

Cross-Section Through A Multi-Layered Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Composite Structure For Defect Analysis

Cross-Section Through A Multi-Layered Carbon-Fiber Reinforced Composite Structure For Defect Analysis

Peter Pook Report

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#78

A Daisy’s Central Disc Pattern Of Tiny Unopened Flowers

A Daisy’s Central Disc Pattern Of Tiny Unopened Flowers

Peter Courtney Kinchington Report

#79

Trumpet Animalcule Containing Endosymbionts

Trumpet Animalcule Containing Endosymbionts

Wim van Egmond Report

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#80

Dasineura Affinis

Dasineura Affinis

Dr. Csaba Pintér Report

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#82

Zebrafish Fin With Cylindrical Bone Segments And Rows Of Pigment

Zebrafish Fin With Cylindrical Bone Segments And Rows Of Pigment

Dr. Leonardo Andrade Report

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#83

Fossil Diatom From Oamaru

Fossil Diatom From Oamaru

Frank Fox Report

#84

Section Of Stem Of A Bomarea Densiflora Plant Specimen

Section Of Stem Of A Bomarea Densiflora Plant Specimen

Edgar Javier Rincón Report

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