40 of 100: Scientific microphotography

While searching for examples of diatom microphotography by J. D. Möller (1844–1907), I stumbled on the Nikon Small World Competition, which began in 1975 "as a means to recognize and applaud the efforts of those involved with photography through the light microscope." There are some fabulous microphotographers—and fascinating subject matter—out there.

I'll start with Mr. Möller himself, who, in the lae 1800s, painstakingly arranged diatoms on glass slides in order to photograph them, both as scientific documents and as works of art:

But now, having been sufficiently distracted from my initial quest, here, quite randomly, are some of the images from last year's Nikon competition that especially appealed to my eye:

Stefan Eberhard, Caffeine crystals 
(polarized light, 25x magnification)

Satu Paavonsalo and Dr. Sinem Karaman, Blood and
lymphatic vasculature in the ear skin of an adult mouse
(confocal, 10x magnification)

Marek Miś, Stomata in peace lily (Spathiphyllum sp.)
leaf epidermis
(polarized light, 40x magnification)

Dr. Diego García, Carbon nanotubes
(stereomicroscopy, 30x magnification)

John-Oliver Dum, Sunflower pollen on an acupuncture needle
(image stacking, 40x magnification)

Hassanian Qambari and Jayden Dickson, Rodent optic nerve head
showing asrocytes (yellow), contractile proteins (red), and
retinal vasculature (green)
(confocal, fluorescence, image stacking; 20x magnification)

Frank Fox, Marine organism (Pyrocystis lunula, Dinophyceae)
(differential interference contrast, 100x magnification)

Alison Pollack, Slime mold (Diderma tigrinum)
(image stacking, reflected light; 10x magnification)

Dr. Nathan P. Myhrvold, Trichinella cyst in pork muscle
(brightfield, image stacking; 10x magnification)

Drs. Grigorii Timin and Michel Milinkovitch,
Dermal collagen in embryonic snake scales
(confocal, 63x magnification)

I could go on and on: last year's competition had 20 top placers (the one above of the rodent optic nerve head placed 1st), eight honorable mentions, and 58 "images of distinction." And that's just one year. There's a gallery for each year beginning in 1975. A wealth of beauty and fascination!

But I'll stop here. Go check out the link. There is also a Small World in Motion Competition—yes, macro videos—which launched in 2011. No end to the fun! Seriously!

Oh wait: I wasn't done after all. No sooner had I posted this than I got roped into doing some Vote Forward letter writing (writing to prospective voters urging them to vote—nothing partisan, though I may have wanted to have a strong word or two...), and what was the sheet of stamps I was given? This:

Beautiful, no? Who can resist the exquisite abstraction of this amazing world seen up very, very close?