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Pin-ItNikon Small World veteran Dr. Igor Siwanowicz took second place in the 2019 Photomicrography Competition for his composite image of three single-cell freshwater protozoans, sometimes called "trumpet animalcules.” He used confocal microscopy to capture the detail of the cilia, tiny hairs used by the animals for feeding and locomotion.
2019 Photomicrography Competition
2nd Place
Depth-color coded projections of three stentors (single-cell freshwater protozoans)
Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz
- Affiliation
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
Janelia Research Campus
Ashburn, Virginia, USA
- Magnification
- 40x (Objective Lens Magnification)
In Their Own Words
A Q&A with Nikon Small World winner Dr. Igor Siwanowicz.
What is the subject matter of your winning image and why did you choose this image?
The image, a composite of three depth color-coded projections, shows single-cell freshwater protozoans, stentors (sometimes called “trumpet animalcules”). Stentors were for quite a while on my list of potential imaging subjects, but, although present in local ponds, I could never collect a sufficient amount to try various fixation and staining protocols. Last spring, we had two Ph.D. students visiting our advanced imaging center with a goal of visualizing mitochondrial dynamics in those protozoans. I simply asked them to kindly let me use their leftover stocks after they were done with them. Stentors were featured in the Nikon Smal World contest multiple times, but I don’t recall seeing any images of the protists obtained with a confocal imaging technique. I thought that made the image somewhat unique.
What are the special techniques and/or challenges faced in creating this photomicrograph?
I used antibodies against acetylated tubulin to visualize the cilia that those tiny animals (0.5 mm long) use for feeding and locomotion, and DAPI, a DNA-binding compound, to image the nuclei that form a long strand reminiscent of a string of pearls. Fixation of the protozans is notoriously difficult. When exposed to fixative the organisms tend to collapse into a ball of protoplasm rather than retain their natural extended form. I finally found a working protocol in a 1973 publication.
What is your primary line of work?
For the past eight years, I have been studying neuroanatomy of a dragonfly, specifically the neural circuits involved in pray interception and capture. More recently, I’m collaborating on a number of projects (in- and outside of Janelia), that involve imaging of various chunks of invertebrate anatomy.
How long have you been taking photographs through a microscope? What first sparked your interest in photomicrography?
About 10 years. I was fascinated with nature since before I remember; my parents are biologists and I grew up surrounded by textbooks. I enjoyed browsing through the illustrations and photographs long before I learned how to read. It wasn’t until 16 years ago, at the age of 26, that I bought my first camera and found myself on the supply side of nature photography, with special focus on macro technique. Photomicrography is a logical continuation of photography and allows me an even more intimate perspective of my “models”.
Do you tend to focus your microscopy toward a specific subject matter or theme?
I’m enamored with invertebrate morphology; usual evolutionary restraints don’t seem to apply within the realm of tiny animals, which is evident in the abundance and variety of often grotesque and utterly alien forms. Microscopy allows me to see beyond the cuticle, explore the baroque arrangement of muscle fibers or intricate fractal-like network of neurons.
Why did you enter the Nikon Small World Photomicrography competition? What do you think of the competition?
Many scientists share an appreciation of beauty and are fully aware of the aesthetic aspects of their research. The Nikon Small World Contest was conceived with such people in mind. Images are rewarded for the artistic merit and visual aspects on par with and often above their scientific importance; that definitely grants the contest a broad appeal among non-experts and contributes to redeeming the image of science as a somber, wonder-less, unexciting affair utterly unintelligible for a layperson.
1st Place
Fluorescent turtle embryo
Teresa Zgoda Teresa Kugler
- Location
- Campbell Hall, New York, USA
- Technique
- Stereomicroscopy, Fluorescence
- Magnification
- 5x (Objective Lens Magnification)
For microscopy technician Teresa Zgoda and recent university graduate Teresa Kugler, microscopy is a discipline that allows them to blend their dual passions of art and science. The 2019 winning image is a spectacular example of that, featuring a colorful turtle embryo captured using a combination of fluorescence and stereomicroscopy.
The pair captured this image while assisting in the Marine Biological Laboratory’s embryology course. It was here they learned the precise technique required to properly prepare various types of embryos to be observed and photographed. Creating this image was a unique challenge, largely due to the size of the sample. Over an inch long, and thick, it took time and precision to ensure the entire subject was photographed completely. What’s more, the magnification used meant only a small part of the turtle could be imaged on the focal plane. The final image is a compilation of hundreds of images that had to be stacked and stitched together.
When they are not taking photos through the microscope, both women enjoy being creative (for Kugler, that means cosplay, and for Zgoda it means photographing the landscapes, plants, and animals she sees on her hikes). Zgoda has recently started a job in a Boston hospital in a lab focused on neurology, while Kugler is excited to see what the world of science has in store for new Rochester Institute of Technology graduate.
“Microscopy lets us get a better look at the small things in life,” said Kugler, “It allows me to do science with a purpose.”
“We are inspired by the beautiful images we see through the microscope,” added Zgoda, “It’s amazing to be able to share that science with other people.”
In Their Own Words
A Q&A with Nikon Small World winners Teresa Zgoda and Teresa Kugler.
What is the subject matter of your winning image and why did you choose this image?
Teresa Zgoda: This image shows a turtle embryo. There aren’t many pictures of turtles that went through the skeletal prepping process, and none that were imaged using fluorescence, so we thought it would be great to share what we created.
What are the special techniques and/or challenges faced in creating this photomicrograph?
Teresa Zgoda: At the time of writing this, I have just started a new job at a research hospital in Boston where I will be assisting in a neurology microscopy core.
Teresa Kugler: I’ve recently graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology.
How long have you been taking photographs through a microscope? What first sparked your interest in photomicrography?
Teresa Zgoda: When I went to start classes at my college, I learned of the microscopy courses offered there. I remember my first microscopy class in the spring semester of my sophomore year, walking into the lab and wanting to look at every single thing under the microscope.
Teresa Kugler: Photomicrography allowed for the combination of my two favorite things, photographs and working towards a purpose in science. Just after only taking a few pictures of makeup and various plant cross-sections, I fell in love with taking pictures of the small things in life.
Do you tend to focus your microscopy toward a specific subject matter or theme? If so, why?
Teresa Zgoda: I enjoy photographing nature or natural substances, living things with cells and movement. It tends to be more interesting to me, seeing the everyday natural world at such a high magnification.
Teresa Kugler: I tend to focus on plant cross-sections because I enjoy the overall structure of the specimens.
Why did you enter the Nikon Small World Photomicrography competition? What do you think of the competition?
Teresa Zgoda: Nikon is a leading brand in the photography world, and the Small World competition brings to light a lesser known side of photography: photomicrography. The competition does wonders in curating a gallery of beautiful but also scientifically useful imagery.
3rd Place
Alligator embryo developing nerves and skeleton
Daniel Smith Paredes Dr. Bhart-Anjan S. Bhullar
- Affiliation
- Yale University
Department of Geology and Geophysics
New Haven, Connecticut, USA
- Technique
- Immunofluorescence
- Magnification
- 10x (Objective Lens Magnification)
In Their Own Words
A Q&A with Nikon Small World winner Daniel Smith Paredes.
What is the subject matter of your winning image and why did you choose this image?
It’s an embryo of an American alligator, at around 20 days of development, stained to label the developing nerves (white) and skeleton (yellow). I thought it looked cool, and it showed how intricate the nerves can be even early in development, and how they relate spatially to the skeleton.
What are the special techniques and/or challenges faced in creating this photomicrograph?
The most difficult task was to be able to image something this size. It’s actually composed of many thousand individual pictures merged together.
What is your primary line of work?
Evolutionary developmental biology, comparative anatomy and embryology. Studying the way vertebrates have evolved by comparing their embryonic development and how it is similar and how is different between different groups of animals.
How long have you been taking photographs through a microscope?
Three-four years. I was inspired by the ability to look into the anatomical structures in developing embryos.
Do you tend to focus your microscopy toward a specific subject matter or theme? If so, why?
My interest is directed mostly towards embryonic anatomy and development.
Why did you enter the Nikon Small World Photomicrography competition? What do you think of the competition?
I was encouraged by a friend who told me I should give it a try, since my samples look good and also because they represent some groups of animals mostly understudied or photographed in micro scale.
Top 20
Honorable Mentions
Images of Distinction
Judges
Dr. Denisa Wagner
Edwin Cohn Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and the Head of the Wagner Lab Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital
Dr. Wagner has dedicated her career to the fields of vascular cell biology and the causes of inflammation and blood clots. For many years, her laboratory’s research has focused on adhesion molecules (cell adhesion molecules help cells stick to each other and to their surroundings) and their function in normal physiology and in pathological situations. One of her labs’ current interests is the biology of neutrophil extracellular traps (networks of extracellular nuclear DNA) and the study of their production using time-lapse microscopy.
Dr. Rita Strack
Senior Editor Nature Methods
Dr. Strack has been an editor at Nature Methods since November of 2014. Her primary areas of coverage for the journal are imaging, microscopy, and probes, but her interests and expertise also extends to molecular biology, structural biology, and biophysics. She attended the University of Chicago, where she earned her Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 2010. Strack did a postdoctoral fellowship at Weill Cornell College of Medicine, where she spent countless hours on the microscope getting beautiful images to better understand the toxic RNAs associated with Fragile-X tremor, an adult-onset neurodegenerative disease.
Tom Hale
Staff Writer IFLScience
Hale is a London-based journalist at beloved popular science publication IFLScience. He is an experienced science writer, researching and sharing insights on everything from new species and biomedical breakthroughs to climate change and viruses. He has also written on art in culture, his work appearing in publications such as VICE’s Motherboard and FACT Magazine.
Ben Guarino
Science Reporter The Washington Post
A top science writer for The Washington Post, Guarino focuses on the practice and culture of science. Before making the switch to journalism, Guarino studied bioengineering and worked at the Spine Pain Research Lab at the University of Pennsylvania. He has also worked as a freelance science journalist, an associate editor at the Dodo and a medical reporter at the McMahon Group. His work has also appeared in publications like The Verge and The Huffington Post.
