Photomicography Edit
Photographs that Zoom in on the Unseen

For 35 years, Nikon has held a photomicography competition and the winners from 2009 were announced in October 2009. There were 3000 global entries this year and they were judged “on several criteria including originality, informational content, technical proficiency and visual impact.”

Pictures were taken with a light microscope and they are spectacular! As you can see; the imagery is colourful, striking and show us the beauty that escapes the naked eye.

The Top 10 winners in the 2009 Nikon photomicography competition are:

1:Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) anther
2:Sonchus asper (spiny sowthistle) flower stem section
3:Wrinkled photoresist
4:Anglerfish ovary
5:Oral surface of a young seastar
6:Discus fish scales
7:Hair-like trichomes on Thunbergia alata (Black-eyed Susan vine)
8:Cotton fibers stained with berberine sulphate and color depth shaded
9:Olivine inclusions in gabbro (magmatic rock)
10:Algae and diatoms