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)

To an outsider, their passion is at times illegal and often on the verge of life and death. But climbing rooftops of high-rise buildings and exploring abandoned facilities is in the blood of these young Muscovites. The small group calls itself “Rudex”, which stands for “roof and decay exploration”, and is akin a Western youth craze known as urbex or “urban exploration” of man-made structures. Here: Urban explorer Vad Him of Rudex team jumps whilst on a rooftop in Moscow, Russia, August 14, 2017. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Moichara or Bull race is a rural festival where a pair of bulls race each other during the monsoon season. This race is performed by a farmer in Parganas, India on July 4, 2021. (Photo by Sumit Sanyal/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

An Israeli soldier waits at the bus station, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel on August 15, 2024. (Photo by Florion Goga/Reuters)

Women pose for a selfie at Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 30, 2016. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Lebanese university students wearing municipality police costume regulate the traffic in the village of Brummana, east Beirut, Lebanon, 23 June 2018. The touristic town of Brummana is making a daring move in anticipation of the crowded summer season, by forming a group of young policewomen wearing mini shorts to regulate the traffic. (Photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA/EFE)

These hilarious photos show some of nature’s mightiest animals — yawning away! (Actually – not always; AvaxNews). The images were taken by photographers across the world, from the African savannas to the Pacific Ocean. Here: Elephant Seal. (Photo by David Crocker/Caters News Agency)

Winner. “I took this picture of a woman in traditional clothing in Cartagena, Colombia”. PAUL GOLDSTEIN, JUDGE: “The blaze of colour from every angle, the boldness of the picture, taken from behind, which gives it so much more allure and frankly a superb get up. Did I mention the colours? Oh, and that looks suspiciously like a Nokia”. (Photo by Stanislav Shmelev/The Guardian)