The winners of the 2022 Small World Photomicrography Competition have just been announced, and organizers have once more shared some of the winning and honored images with us. The contest invites photographers and scientists to submit images of all things visible under a microscope. More than 1,300 entries were received from 72 countries in 2022, the 48th year of the competition.
Photographing the Microscopic: Winners of Nikon Small World 2022
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![A microscopic view of the hand of a gecko, showing skin, bones, and veins]()
Read moreFirst Place Winner: Embryonic hand of a Madagascar giant day gecko (Phelsuma grandis) #
Grigorii Timin & Dr. Michel Milinkovitch, Geneva, Switzerland -
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![A small butterfly egg sits attached to what appears to be a curly stem or branch.]()
Read moreHonorable Mention: Butterfly egg #
Ye Fei Zhang, Jiangsu, China -
![A close view of the tip of a drill bit coated with diamond crystals]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: A dental drill bit studded with diamond chips #
Karl E. Deckart, Bavaria, Germany -
![A microscopic view of a grid of tiny rectangular cells attached to several straight channels]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: A digital PCR plate set up with RNA extracted from viruses in wastewater sludge #
Karie Holtermann & Payal Sarkar, San Jose, California -
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![A close view of an ant's face]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: A close view of an ant (Camponotus) #
Dr. Eugenijus Kavaliauskas, Tauragė, Lithuania -
![Colorful swirls and patches of crystals viewed under high magnification]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Amino acid crystals (L-glutamine and beta-alanine) #
Dr. John Hart, Boulder, Colorado -
![A curved filament of a flower forms a loop, with bits of pollen on its tip.]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Four o'clock flower (Mirabilis jalapa) #
Gabriel Fernández & Fernández Jorge Alberto, San Luis, Argentina -
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![A close-up of a tiny anemone larva]()
Read moreHonorable Mention: Larva of an anemone, found in marine plankton #
Wim van Egmond, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands -
![Colorful circles of varying sizes, clumped together]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Drops of olive oil in water #
Dr. Adolfo Ruiz De Segovia, Madrid, Spain -
![A close-up of butterfly scales, which look like short feathers overlapping one another like roof tiles]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Butterfly scales #
Yuan Ji, Shanghai, China -
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![A fossilized winged ant encased in amber]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Winged ant encased in approximately 20-million-year-old Dominican amber #
Enrico Bonino, Liège, Belgium -
![A close-up of a moss spore capsule, which looks like small tentacles emerging from a shell]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Moss spore capsule (sporangium) #
Michael Landgrebe, Berlin, Germany -
![A microscopic cross-section of a piece of wood, showing cells clustered in patterns and groups]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Wood cells #
Anne-Françoise Tasnier, Tervuren, Belgium -
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![A stack of moth eggs, resembling three squashed pink marshmallows]()
Read more11th Place Winner: Moth eggs #
Ye Fei Zhang, Jiangsu, China -
![A microscopic view of cells inside breast tissue, which look like small blobs wrapped in fibers]()
Read more2nd Place Winner: Breast tissue showing contractile myoepithelial cells wrapped around milk-producing alveoli #
Dr. Caleb Dawson, Melbourne, Australia -
![A close view of the front of a beetle]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Red speckled jewel beetle (Chrysochroa buqueti rugicollis) #
Yousef Al Habshi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates -
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![A cross-section of bamboo, showing many clusters of rounded cells]()
Read moreHonorable Mention: Young stem of garden bamboo (Fargesia sp.) #
Gerd Günther, Düsseldorf, Germany -
![An extreme close-up of dozens of small rocks and crystals]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Grains of sand from Alaska #
Xinpei Zhang, Ya'an, China -
![A fractured-looking section inside a crystal, forming a shape that resembles a mountain range]()
Read moreImage of Distinction: Etch tube in Brazilian quartz with iron oxide staining #
Danny J. Sanchez, Valley Village, California -
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![A colorful microscopic image of a midge larva]()
Read moreHonorable Mention: Midge larva collected from a fresh water pond #
Karl Gaff, Dublin, Ireland
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