Third place: the rear leg, claw and respiratory trachea of a louse (Haematopinus suis). (Photo by Frank Reiser/Nassau Community College/Nikon Small World Photomicrography 2021)

Interior designer Zahra Afridi (R) kicks a punching bag during a kickboxing training session at her home in Islamabad February 10, 2014. Afridi runs her own interior design company. Her most recent project was a Classic Rock Coffee cafe in Islamabad. Though instability continues to plague Pakistan and many areas are dominated by social conservatism, some of the country's more affluent residents have worked to fashion a very different kind of lifestyle for themselves. Pictures of men and women taking part in all sorts of activities and professions – from being a pilates instructor, to a textile retail entrepreneur, to a member of a rock band – offer a different view of Pakistan to images of conflict that often make the news. (Photo by Zohra Bensemra/Reuters)

A miner with a donkey makes his way through the low and narrow tunnel leading out of a coal mine in Choa Saidan Shah in Punjab province, April 29, 2014. Workers at this mine in Choa Saidan Shah dig coal with pick axes, break it up and load it onto donkeys to be transported to the surface. Employed by private contractors, a team of four workers can dig about a ton of coal a day, for which they earn around $10 to be split between them. The coalmine is in the heart of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous and richest province, but the labourers mostly come from the poorer neighbouring region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (Photo by Sara Farid/Reuters)

Actress/Singer Victoria Justice arrives at the 2012 Teen Choice Awards at Gibson Amphitheatre on July 22, 2012 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Jeffrey Mayer)

Each year Nikon Small World recognizes the excellence of photography taken under the microscope. The contest showcases the beauty and complexity of life. Anyone interested in microscopy and photography can enter the contest and in its 42nd year, Nikon Small World received 2,000 entries from 70 countries. Here: 11th Place; Scales of a butterfly wing underside (Vanessa atalanta). (Photo by Francis Sneyers/Nikon's Small World 2016)

Children sit under a crocodile based table, as they pose for photographers during a press preview of a themed auction that features the animal as artistic inspiration, entitled “Creatures Great and Small”, in London, Monday, December 15, 2014. The sale scheduled for December 17, 2014, explores animals across a diverse range of mediums and styles, from intricate carving details in 19th century furniture through to contemporary sculpture, according to Christie’s auction house. (Photo by Lefteris Pitarakis/AP Photo)

The double compound eyes of a male St. Mark's fly (Bibio marci), submitted by Dr. David Maitland from Feltwell, UK. (Dr. David Maitland)

Most people know Nikon as a purveyor of pro and consumer-grade digital cameras. But the company's expertise with optics bleeds over into related markets – it's one of the science community's major suppliers of microscopes. And each year the company asks the community to send it some of their favorite images of tiny objects. A panel of scientists and journalists have chosen the best of this past year's submissions, which Nikon has placed on its Small World site.

Photo: Honorable Mention. “Snow crystal, illuminated with colored lights (5x)”. (Photo by Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Department of Physics, Pasadena, California, USA)