2016 Nikon Small World Popular Vote Winners Announced
Winners of the 2016 Nikon Small World Popular Vote Competition
Posted on October 28, 2016
The Popular Vote winners in the 2016 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition are Jose Almodovar and Dr. Alvaro Roura. With so many spectacular images, it’s only fitting that more than one has taken the title.
It may look like a pair of trees, but Jose Almodovar’s image of a slime mold puts this specimen in a whole new light. What makes this image incredible is its colors and ability to provoke imagination and curiosity. It also required exemplary technique, as it Almodovar had to use a very specific focus and remain completely still when taking the photo.
Almodovar is a Scientific Instrumentation Specialist in charge of the microscopy center at The University of Puerto Rico’s Mayaguez Campus. He has been taking micrographs for over 22 years and has been participating in the Nikon Small World competition since 2006.
For a close look at Mr. Almodovar’s image, click here.
Dr. Alvaro Roura’s Viperfish inspires awe and terror in equal measure. Dr. Roura sorted this Viperfish from a plankton sample collected at night in the surface waters of the Iberian Peninsula. He chose this photo in part because of how it features the “blue” spot under the Viperfish’s eye. The spot produces a red light that brings red prey out of the dark, an extraordinary adaptation for the predator. What’s even more amazing about this photo? It was taken aboard a research vessel surrounded by waves that made the shot very difficult to take.
Dr. Roura’s research is focused on the ecology of zooplankton at The Instituto de Investigacións Mariñas in Vigo, Spain. He has been taking micrographs for eight years.
For a close look at Dr. Roura’s image, click here.
