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2017 Nikon Macro Photo Contest Winners Show The World Like You’ve Never Seen Before
Sometimes bigger is better, but other times it's all about the details, and as you can see from the winners of Nikon's 2017 Small World Photomicrography competition, it doesn't get more detailed than this.
The competition, which is now in its 43rd year, attracts doctors, scientists, and macro photography enthusiasts from all over the world, and over 2000 people from 88 countries submitted their work for consideration this year. For those of you who don't know, photomicrography is the practice 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.
This year's top prize went to researchers at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, BioImaging Facility & Department of Cell Biology, who captured immortalised human skin cells expressing fluorescently tagged keratin. Scroll down to see the rest of the winners. 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: mymodernmet)
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Jumping Spider, Istanbul, Honorable Mention
Yezid Puerto 8 years ago
nope, a nope with four nopes,..., with great eyelashes,..., but nope........
The Cappy 8 years ago
You think they designed their monsters without reference to anything?
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Bobbi Newell 8 years ago
Beautiful colors! I love jumping spiders for their curiosity. This one probably held still, wondering, "What's that human up to?"
ChubbySquid 8 years ago
Jumping spiders are the best creature in the bug world. They are just so adorable.
Monika Soffronow 8 years ago
Talk about looking straight into the lens - with all four eyes, wow.
Aparna Cheerath 8 years ago
Not only do spiders have cute paws but they have eyelashes to rival the best fashionista... so cute!
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#2
Paracetamol (Common Painkiller) Crystals, Finland, Image Of Distinction
ChubbySquid 8 years ago
It looks as if the northern lights just fell to earth above Antarctica and coloured the glaciers.
cnx 8 years ago
You don't get high if you take too much paracetamol (Tylenol/acetaminophen), you'd just die of liver failure...
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Carson Bellew 8 years ago
brain.exe has stopped working, please see the nearest humans technicians office...
#3
Living Volvox Algae Releasing Its Daughter Colonies, Nantes, 3rd Place
Sally Vogel 8 years ago
Yeah! except the new critters are being expelled instead of ingested.
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#4
The Head Of A Pork Tapeworm, New York, 4th Place
Zori the degu 8 years ago
Tapeworms are one of the most horrific parasites found in existence, so it's not surprising how scary they are up close.
#5
Mold On A Tomato, Netanya, 5th Place
#6
Traxacum Officinale (Dandelion) Cross Section Showing Curved Stigma With Pollen, Nottingham, Honorable Mention
#7
Immortalized Human Skin Cells Expressing Fluorescently Tagged Keratin, Amsterdam, 1st Place
Vlad Horobet 8 years ago
They should put this into biology books near the "mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell..."
#8
Plastic Fracturing On Credit Card Hologram, Texas, 11th Place
Judy Semmens 8 years ago
If you told me that was detail on a bird's feather, I'd believe you. It's gorgeous!
Virginia Archer 8 years ago
Feathers of an as yet unnamed exotic animal that lives only in the desserts of the Southwest. Sightings have been documented twice. The first sighting was credited to Charles "Chuck Goldpan" Nickols a noted and long time miner associated with the mining boom that took place in The Superstition Mountains of southwest Arizona, in the 1800's.The second and most recent sighting was by noted photographer A. Clikker. More at Nat.Aviary/names:/LsssIsssE.cod
#9
Natural Bridge (Petiole Nodes) Connecting The Abdomen And Thorax Of An Ant, Izmir, Image Of Destinction
Teri Chace 8 years ago
Please correct the typo in #6, cried the botanist! Taraxacum. Thank you.
Krista Leary 8 years ago
So I was like awww, look at the things kissing and then I read the title...
#10
Synapta (Sea-Cucumber) Skin, Le Mans, 18th Place
#11
3rd Trimester Fetus Of Megachiroptera, Colorado, 15th Place
Vlad Horobet 8 years ago
To anyone who does not know what a Megachiroptera is the bigger version of the Chiroptera. J.k. It's a fruit eating bat.
The Cappy 8 years ago
I figured it was a bat from the hands, but you saved me the trouble of looking it up. Thx.
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#12
Asilidae (Rubber Fly) Eye Section, Abu Dhabi, Image Of Distinction
Monika Soffronow 8 years ago
Perfect example of a human being trying to interpret nature in human terms.
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#13
Senecio Vulgaris Seed Head, Israel, 2nd Place
#14
Ganglion Cells Expressing Fluorescent Proteins In A Mouse Retina, California, Honorable Mention
Monika Soffronow 8 years ago
Extraordinary. What would Leonardo da Vinci have painted had he known anatomy at this level?
#15
Broccoli, Washington, Honorable Mention
Jason Stirland 8 years ago
I love broccoli. But this looks slightly frog-like. Not sure I'm comfortable eating frog...need to get the frog/broccoli image to fade, fast. Got broccoli for tea.... :D
#16
Opiliones (Daddy Longlegs) Eye, Washington, 12th Place
#17
Pyromorphite (Mineral), Spain, Image Of Distinction
Hannigram 8 years ago
Oh my lanta? Just guessing cause everyone at my school says it.
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#18
Lily Pollen, Southampton, 6th Place
DopethronePunkUK 8 years ago
Well its not actually flower sperm, what you are looking at is small pollen tube which releases sperm after pollination, pollen is not flower sperm.
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#19
Nsutite And Cacoxenite (Minerals), Madrid, Image Of Distinction
#20
Individually Labeled Axons In An Embryonic Chick Ciliary Ganglion, Nagoya, 7th Place
Twitchtail 8 years ago
Would love to know how the individually labeled those. Meticulous work.
Ashley Say Wha?!? 8 years ago
That was my exact thought when looking at this, how in the world?
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#21
Neurons Derived From A Parkinson Patient, Seongnam, Honorable Mention
#22
Abdominal Proleg Of A Caterpillar, Netanya, Image Of Destinction
Zori the degu 8 years ago
It looks so complicated due to the fact that it's supposed to glue the caterpillar to the wall/plant/etc.
olemann77 8 years ago
cant even imagine all the weird 911 calls they have.. "what, you broke 32 fingers?!?"
Load More Replies... Monika Soffronow 8 years ago
I counted some 50 (visible) legs on the proleg. How many legs are there in total on one little caterpillar?
#23
Aspergillus Flavus (Fungus) And Yeast Colony From Soil, New York, 20th Place
#24
Melaleuca Sp. (Paperbark Tree) Leaf, Perth, Image Of Distinction
Connie Martin 8 years ago
I said that aloud to myself before I saw your comment!
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Alice Teasdale 8 years ago
Somehow this is quintessentially Australian - it evokes the wattle, melaleuca and callistemon flowers even in the leaf. Miraculous!
Alice Teasdale 8 years ago
Oh and a few really scary banksia men, if you know May Gibbs's stories!
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#25
Small Moth, Rostock, Image Of Destinction
#26
Moth Eggs In Spider Silk, Illinois, Image Of Destinction
Connie Martin 8 years ago
BP I love you, but please! "Distinction" with an I. Sheesh it's not that unusual a word.
#27
Liquid Crystal, Colorado, Honorable Mention
Daria B 8 years ago
For some reason, it reminds me of traditional Chinese dresses. I can totally imagine this as a pattern.
Monika Soffronow 8 years ago
Liquid crystals (LCs) are matter in a state which has properties between those of conventional liquids and those of solid crystals. For instance, a liquid crystal may flow like a liquid, but its molecules may be oriented in a crystal-like way. (I looked it up ;-) )
Zori the degu 8 years ago
It totally deserves honorable mention, it looks like the most beautiful necklace ever created... In fact, I bet a pioneer designer would definitely use liquid crystal as inspiration some day.
#28
Parus Major (Titmouse) Down Feather, Podlaskie, 16th Place
#29
Nerves (In Green) Under The Skin Of A Mouse (Hair Follicles Are Shown In Red And Blue), Uk, Image Of Distinction
#30
Dyed Human Hair, Steinberg, 17th Place
Celestial Lynx 8 years ago
Yes. It happens all the time in your sleep, combing your hair, bathing, etc. If you've ever found a single strand of hair and noticed a tiny lump on it, this is what it is: a self-tied, microscopic knot.
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#32
Common Mestra Butterfly Eggs, Laid On A Leaf Of Tragia Sp., Texas, 14th Place
#33
Stamen (Flower Organ),yahud Monsun, Image Of Distinction
#34
Circocerus (Beetle) Head, Kiel, Image Of Distinction
#35
Hippocampal (Brain) Region, California, Image Of Distinction
#36
Growing Cartilage-Like Tissue In The Lab Using Bone Stem Cells (Collagen Fibers In Green And Fat Deposits In Red), Southampton, 9th Place
#37
Newborn Rat Cochlea With Sensory Hair Cells (Green) And Spiral Ganglion Neurons (Red), Bern, 8th Place
#38
Simple Eyes Of Ectemnius With Condensation, Tonbridge, Image Of Destinction
Summer Woodsong 8 years ago
Ectemnius is a genus of wasps in the family Crabronidae - Wikipedia
#39
Pleurotaenium Ovatum, Panama, Image Of Distinction
Monika Soffronow 8 years ago
In taxonomy, Pleurotaenium is a genus of green algae, specifically of the Placoderm desmids
#40
Warp Knitted Curtain Fabric, Zwijnaarde, Honorable Mention
#41
Label-Free Optical Imaging Of Human Breast Tissue, Illinois, Image Of Distinction
#42
Exaerete Frontalis From The Collections Of The Oxford University Museum Of Natural History, Ramsbury, 13th Place
#43
Phyllobius Roboretanus (Weevil), Keszthely, 10th Place
Vlad Horobet 8 years ago
Most of the images with the Phyllobius Roboretanus are depicting them into intimate positions. I wonder why.
Steve Bowman 8 years ago
Yes, like the mollusc this is a randy little fellow whose primitive brain scarcely strays from the subject of the you know what.
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#44
Migrasome Of A Mouse Fibroblast Cell (L929), Beijing, Image Of Distinction
Monika Soffronow 8 years ago
Fibroblasts produce tropocollagen, which is the forerunner of collagen, and ground substance, an amorphous gel-like matrix that fills the spaces between cells and fibres in connective tissue. fibroblast | anatomy | Britannica.com https://www.britannica.com/science/fibroblast
#45
Human Tongue Blood Vessels Injected With Lead Chromate, New York, Honorable Mention
#46
Sagittal Section Of Mouse Cerebellum (Brain), Athens, Image Of Distinction
#47
Early Stage Development Of Alcea Rosea (An Ornamental Flower), Usa, Image Of Distinction
#48
Prostate Cancer Cells, Usa, Image Of Distinction
Daria B 8 years ago
Indeed. Kinda reminds me of those flying burning skulls from old video games.
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Ciliated Respiratory Epithelial Cells (Yellow) And Mucus Producing Goblet Cells (Cyan), Containing Tight Junctions (Red) And Nuclei (Blue), Rotterdam, Honorable Mention
#50
Embryonic Body Wall From A Developing Mus Musculus, Tennessee, 19th Place
#51
Dye-Injected Hippocampal Interneuron In Mouse Brain Section, Budapest, Honorable Mention
Vlad Horobet 8 years ago
"mom, i've dyed my hair pink, now i'm pretty" "oh honey, i've told you, it's how you are on the inside that matter" "well, gotta go to dye my hippocampal interneurons".
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What do you think ?
Teri Chace 8 years ago
Please correct the typo in #6, cried the botanist! Taraxacum. Thank you.
Teri Chace 8 years ago
Please correct the typo in #6, cried the botanist! Taraxacum. Thank you.
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