2019 Photomicrography Competition

Calendar

8th Place

Frozen water droplet

Garzon Christian

Location: Quintin, Cotes-d’Armor, France

Technique: Incident Light

Magnification: 8x (Objective Lens Magnification)

In Their Own Words

A Q&A with Nikon Small World winner Garzon Christian.

What is the subject matter of your winning image and why did you choose this image?: A frozen water droplet that was on my car hood in sunny conditions. I chose this image because it surprised me after a test shoot, as it looked different from what my eyes saw. I like this picture for its beauty and the surprise of the final render. This reminded me of what happens in my job (I am a social educator) when I realize that something special and beautiful hides behind the first impression I get of a person.

What are the special techniques and/or challenges faced in creating this photomicrograph?: Sadly, I can’t describe the process because the final result of this picture is due to a mistake in my preparation. I did not respect the distance between my lens and my sensor, so it’s challenging to reproduce the same setting.

How long have you been taking photographs through a microscope? What first sparked your interest in photomicrography?: I have been practicing photography through a microscope in the past six months. I was amazed by the possibility to discover nature’s hidden beauty.

Do you tend to focus your microscopy on a specific subject matter or theme? If so, why?: I just like to have fun with the camera and the microscope, I like to get “inside” things.

Why did you enter the Nikon Small World Photomicrography competition? What do you think of the competition?: I entered the Nikon Small World competition to offer my point of view of nature. I like this competition because it’s open to everyone and we can find inspiration.

7th Place

2019 Photomicrography Competition

Chinese red carnation stamen

Dr. Guillermo López López

Location: Alicante, Spain

Technique: Focus Stacking

Magnification: 3x (Objective Lens Magnification)

In Their Own Words

A Q&A with Nikon Small World winner Dr. Guillermo López López.

What is the subject matter of your winning image and why did you choose this image?: The elevation of the stamens in a Chinese red carnation. I chose this image because of the radial symmetry of the colors and the elements. It seems that color and stamens expand as the result of an explosion.

What are the special techniques and/or challenges faced in creating this photomicrograph?: This image is produced using diffuse lighting and focus stacking.

How long have you been taking photographs through a microscope? What first sparked your interest in photomicrography?: Seriously, about two years. My first toy microscope as a child motivated me forever.

Do you tend to focus your microscopy toward a specific subject matter or theme? If so, why?: I focus on plants and flowers because I love their beauty.

Why did you enter the Nikon Small World Photomicrography competition? What do you think of the competition?: I have been following the results of the contest for years, I am fascinated by the photographs that are awarded and the honorable mentions. I was excited to try to be among them.

9th Place

2019 Photomicrography Competition

Tulip bud cross section

Andrei Savitsky

Location: Cherkassy, Ukraine

Technique: Reflected Light

Magnification: 1x (Objective Lens Magnification)

In Their Own Words

A Q&A with Nikon Small World winner Andrei Savitsky.

What is the subject matter of your winning image and why did you choose this image?: The internal structure of an undiscovered tulip bud. I submitted it because when I look at this photo I am fascinated by its symmetry of the spiral structures. We never see what is inside a bud, we always admire the flower, but I can show that a nondescript bud can be more beautiful than the flower itself.

What are the special techniques and/or challenges faced in creating this photomicrograph?: The problem is that the diameter of the bud is more than 1 cm, so even at the lowest magnification, it is impossible to photograph. I came up with the idea of using a phase telescope as a macro lens. I put the phase telescope in the microscope tube and removed the objective lens. And took the photo through the phase telescope.

What is your primary line of work?: I am an electrical engineer by education, but I dream that microphotography will become my main work.

How long have you been taking photographs through a microscope? What first sparked your interest in photomicrography?: I started in 2011, after a microscope demonstration in a school class. When I got the microscope, everything was a discovery for me, I wanted to show it to others to share my delight with them.

Do you tend to focus your microscopy toward a specific subject matter or theme? If so, why?: No. I try to capture all the topics I can.

Honorable Mentions

Nicolas Harmand, et al.

Images of Distinction

Daniel Castranova, et al.

IOD

Bernardo Cesare, et al.

Jasmin Imran Alsous, et al.

Guillermo López López

Somayeh Naghiloo, et al.

IOD

Abigail Neininger, et al.

IOD

Abril Estefania Ortiz Matamoros, et al.

Nathanael Prunet, et al.

Johanna Romero Arias, et al.

IOD

Vinodkumar Selvaraj, et al.

Motosuke Tsutsumi, et al.

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.

2019 Photomicrography Competition

Frozen water droplet

Garzon Christian

In Their Own Words

Chinese red carnation stamen

Dr. Guillermo López López

In Their Own Words

Tulip bud cross section

Andrei Savitsky

In Their Own Words

Top 20

Honorable Mentions

Images of Distinction

Judges

Dr. Denisa Wagner

Dr. Rita Strack

Tom Hale

Ben Guarino

Follow Nikon Small World

Nikon Small World

Nikon Instruments Inc.

Nikon MicroscopyU

Other Nikon Websites