30 Mesmerizing Microscopic Photos From The 2024 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Contest

The winners of the 2024 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Contest bring an incredible look at the miniature details that normally go unnoticed around us.

This annual photo awards celebrate the art and science of photomicrography, capturing details as small as pollen on a fly’s eye or the nervous system of a young sea star.

These interesting pictures aren’t just visually stunning — they offer new insights into fields like cell biology, neuroscience, and more.

Scientists, photographers, and curious minds alike will find these images fascinating, as they combine technical skill and creativity to reveal hidden worlds.

From abstract shapes to bright, unexpected colors, each shot in this year’s contest offers a fresh perspective on the tiny structures that surround us.

If you’re into art, science, or just appreciate amazing visuals, these winning shots are definitely worth exploring.

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#1 “Beach Sand” — Zhang Chao

#2 “Nervous System of a Young Sea Star” — Dr. Laurent Formery and Dr. Nathaniel Clarke

#3 “Wing Scales of a Butterfly on a Medical Syringe Needle” — Daniel Knop

#4 “Slime Mold (Prototrichia Metallica)” — Timothy Boomer

#5 “Peacock Plume Feather” — Dr. Håkan Kvarnström

#6 “Antenna of a Mole Crab” — Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz

#7 “Pollen on the Compound Eyes of a Fly” — Uwe Lange

#8 “Leaf of a Cannabis Plant” — Chris Romaine

#9 “Common House Cat Claw” — Ted Kinsman

#10 “Eyes of Green Crab Spider” — Paweł Błachowicz

#11 “Cluster of Octopus Eggs” — Thomas Barlow and Connor Gibbons

#12 “Golden Bug Eggs on a Sage Leaf” — Jochen Stern

#13 “Ocelli Between the Compound Eyes of a Yellow Jacket” — Dr. Bruce Douglas Taubert

#14 “Electrical Arc Between a Pin and a Wire” — Dr. Marcel Clemens

#15 “Agatized Dinosaur Bone” — Randy Fullbright

#16 “Ink Dot on Japanese Washi Paper” — Thomas Neumann

#17 “Vinyl Player Needle on Scratched Vinyl Disk” — Daniel Evrard

#18 “Slime Mold (Cribraria Cancellata)” — Henri Koskinen

#19 “Pollen in a Garden Spider Web” — John-Oliver Dum

#20 “Cross Section of European Beach Grass Leaf” — Gerhard Vlcek

#21 “Moss Sporophyte with Spores” — Joshua Coogler

#22 “Developing Nervous System in the Eye of a Chick Embryo” — Elkhan Yusifov and Dr. Martina Schaettin

#23 “Slime Mold on a Rotten Twig with Water Droplets” — Dr. Ferenc Halmos

#24 “Human Neurons” — Dr. Saikat Ghosh

#25 “Opening of a Hibiscus Flower Exposing the Pollen” — Daniel Knop

#26 “Dorsal Part of Cuckoo Wasp Abdomen” — Daniel Knop

#27 “Water Mite (Arrenurus)” — Jacek Myslowski

#28 “Aster Anther Cross-Section with Pollen Grains” — Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz

#29 “Dandelion Cross Section Showing Curved Stigma with Pollen” — Dr. Robert Markus

#30 “Two Water Fleas with Embryos and Eggs” — Marek Miś

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