Nikon Small World 2019: The Best Microscope Photos Of The Year

Nikon has announced the winners of the 2019 Small World Photomicrography Competition, and has 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. This year, first place was awarded to Teresa Zgoda and Teresa Kugler for their painstakingly prepared photo of a turtle embryo, using fluorescence and stereo microscopy. More than 2,000 entries were received from 100 countries in 2019, the 45th year of the competition.

1st Place: Teresa Zgoda & Teresa Kugler, Campbell Hall, New York, USA. Fluorescent turtle embryo. Stereomicroscopy, Fluorescence, 5x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Teresa Zgoda/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

More: Small World Photomicrography Competition

2nd Place: Dr. Igor Siwanowicz, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, Virginia, USA. Depth-color coded projections of three stentors (single-cell freshwater protozoans). Confocal, 40x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Igor Siwanowicz/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

3rd Place: Daniel Smith Paredes & Dr. Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar, Yale University, Department of Geology and Geophysics, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Alligator embryo developing nerves and skeleton. Immunofluorescence, 10x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Daniel Smith Paredes/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

4th Place: Jan Rosenboom, Universität Rostock, Rostock, Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Germany. Male mosquito. Focus Stacking, 6.3x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Jan Rosenboom/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

5th Place: Caleb Foster, Caleb Foster Photography, Jericho, Vermont, USA. Snowflake. Transmitted Light, 4x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Caleb Foster/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

6th Place: Javier Rupérez, Almáchar, Málaga, Spain. Small white hair spider. Reflected Light, Image Stacking, 20x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Javier Rupérez/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

7th Place: Dr. Guillermo López, Alicante, Spain. Chinese red carnation stamen. Focus Stacking, 3x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Guillermo López/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

8th Place: Garzon Christian, Quintin, Cotes-d’Armor, France. Frozen water droplet. Incident Light, 8x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Garzon Christian/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

9th Place: Andrei Savitsky, Cherkassy, Ukraine. Tulip bud cross section. Reflected Light, 1x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Andrei Savitsky/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

10th Place: Jason M. Kirk, Baylor College of Medicine, Optical Imaging & Vital Microscopy Core, Houston, Texas, USA. BPAE cells in telophase stage of mitosis. Confocal with Enhanced Resolution, 63x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Jason M. Kirk/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

11th Place: Dr. Yujun Chen & Dr. Jocelyn McDonald, Kansas State University, Department of Biology, Manhattan, Kansas, USA. A pair of ovaries from an adult Drosophila female stained for F-actin (yellow) and nuclei (green); follicle cells are marked by GFP (magenta). Confocal, 10x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Yujun Chen/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

12th Place: Anne Algar, Hounslow, Middlesex, United Kingdom. Mosquito larva. Darkfield, Polarizing Light, Image Stacking, 4x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Anne Algar/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

13th Place: Dr. Emilio Carabajal Márquez, Madrid, Spain. Cuprite (mineral composed of copper oxide). Focus Stacking, 20x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Emilio Carabajal Márquez/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

14th Place: Antoine Franck, CIRAD – Agricultural Research for Development, Saint Pierre, Réunion. Female Oxyopes dumonti (lynx) spider. Focus Stacking, 1x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Antoine Franck/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

15th Place: Marek Miś, Marek Miś Photography, Suwalki, Podlaskie, Poland. Pregnant Daphnia magna (small planktonic crustacean). Modified Darkfield, Polarized Light, Image Stacking, 4x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Marek Miś/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

16th Place: Dr. Razvan Cornel Constantin, Bucharest, Romania. Housefly compound eye pattern. Focus Stacking, Reflected Light, 50x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Razvan Cornel Constantin/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

17th Place: Karl Deckart, Eckental, Bavaria, Germany. Vitamin C. Brightfield, Polarized Light, 4x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Karl Deckart/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

18th Place: E. Billie Hughes, Lotus Gemology, Bangkok, Thailand. Cristobalite crystal suspended in its quartz mineral host. Darkfield, 40x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by E. Billie Hughes/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

19th Place: Martyna Lukoseviciute & Dr. Carrie Albertin, University of Oxford, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. Octopus bimaculoides embryo. Confocal, Image Stitching, 5x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Martyna Lukoseviciute/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

20th Place: Simon Merz, Lea Bornemann & Sebastian Korste, University Hospital Essen, Institute for Experimental Immunology & Imaging, Essen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Blood vessels of a murine (mouse) heart following myocardial infarction (heart attack). Tissue Clearing, Light Sheet Fluorescence Microscopy, 2x (Objective Lens Magnification). (Photo by Simon Merz/Nikon’s Small World 2019)

If you want more awesome content, subscribe to Design You Trust Facebook page.

More Inspiring Stories

Remarkable Street & Travel Winning Photos from the 2025 Exposure One Shot Photo Contest

Sama-Sama: A Malaysian Portraiture

Incredible Portraits Of Maori Women With Their Tradition Chin Tattoos From The Early 20th Century

Everyday Lives Of Villagers In Indonesia Captured In Heartwarming Photos

Winning Photos Of The 2017 UK Royal Society Of Biology Photographer Of The Year

Stunning Winning Photos Of The 2022 Siena Creative Photo Awards

Breathtaking Underwater Photograhy By Tim Davis

"End Of Days": Photographer Ali Rajabi Captures New York City In The Dark

Fascinating Color Photographs That Capture Boston Youth Fashion In The Early 1970s

Beautiful Vintage Photos Of The Circus Girls Of Sarasota Taking A Break In 1949

Photographer Recreates Iconic Photos With John Malkovich As The Main Subject

Fascinating Vintage Photographs of Dutch Men In Traditional Volendam Worker Pants

X-Ray Photographer Nick Veasey Takes You Inside... Everything!

Spectacular Winning Photos Of 2024 Announced By 1839 Awards

Gorgeous Photos Of Classic Beauties Taken From Between The 1940s And 1960s By Philippe Halsman

Lovely Vintage Photos of Rock Stars Posing With Their Kitty Cats

Women Paint “Stockings” on Their Legs at a Store in Croydon, London, 1941

Spy Games: Images from the Secret Stasi Archives

Daredevil Photographer And A Storm Chaser Captures Stunning Pictures Of Natural Disasters

Bizarre Cameras Used Before GoPros Existed – This Is How People Filmed Their Stuff

"Graphemic Synesthesia": Artist Duo Spent 2 Years Photographing ‘Colored’ Letters To Show How They See Them

UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards 2013 Finalists

Mysterious Soviet Leningrad City in Noir and Atmospheric Photographs by Boris Smelov

Photographer Hanabi Taikai Captures The Beauty Of Fireworks In Japan

Grizzly Bears Among Stunning Finalists of National Parks Photo Contest

Couple Recreates “Alien” Birth Scene For Maternity Photo Shoot

Artist Agnes Denes Grow a Field of Wheat in in Lower Manhattan, New York, 1982

The Ocean Photography Awards Just Announced Their Finalists And The Photos Look Stunning

Japanese Photographer Captures Breathtaking Images Of Gifu Castle Against Reiwa Era’s First Cold Moon

'This Is Mars': A US Satellite Took These Stunning Black-And-White Photos Of Planet Mars