Now celebrating its 40th year, Nikon Small World is widely regarded as the leading forum to recognize proficiency and photographic excellence of photography taken under the microscope. To select the winners, competition judges analyzed entries from all over the world covering subjects ranging from chemical compounds to up-close-and-personal looks at biological specimens. The 2014 winners will be revealed on October 30th. In 2014, the competition received over 1,200 entries from more than 79 countries around the world. (Photo by Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz/Nikon Small World 2014)

A boy looks for sellable materials close to the burning garbage in the permanent waste land under Sylhet City Corporation for a living, on January 15, 2015. (Photo by Md. Akhlas Uddin/Pacific Press)

A young man weaves palm fronds into the shape of a cross before the start of a Mass to observe Palm Sunday, at the Metropolitan Cathedral, in Managua, Nicaragua, Sunday, March 29, 2015. For Christians, Palm Sunday marks the start of Holy Week ahead of Easter, commemorating Jesus Christ's entrance into Jerusalem, when his followers laid palm branches in his path. (Photo by Esteban Felix/AP Photo)

Youths kick a gay rights activist during a protest against a proposed new law termed by the State Duma, the lower house of Parliament, as “against advocating the rejection of traditional family values” in central Moscow June 11, 2013. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Russia's Ekaterina Birlova casts a shadow on the sand as she serves to Poland during a women's beach volleyball match at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, August 9, 2016. (Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo)

The Duchess of Cambridge comes down a slide during a visit to the LEGO Foundation PlayLab at the Carlsberg Campus, University College Copenhagen, Denmark, on day one of a two-day working visit with The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood on Tuesday, February 22, 2022. (Photo by John Sibley/PA Wire Press Association)

British singer and songwriter Ella Eyre performing on stage at Capital's Summertime Ball 2022 at Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom on June 12, 2022. (Photo by David Fisher/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Members of Afghan ninja team “Kabura Vahdet” practices Asian martial arts in Tehran, Iran on June 17, 2022. (Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)