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)

A man rides a horse through a bonfire as part of a ritual in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals, in San Bartolome de Pinares, about 100 km west of Madrid, Spain on Thursday, January 16, 2014. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses through the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the “Luminarias”, a tradition that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires and protect them for the year to come. (Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP Photo)

A Hindu devotee girl stands after getting her tongue pierced with a metal rod during the Thaipusam festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, February 3, 2015. Thaipusam, which is celebrated in honor of Hindu god Lord Murugan, is an annual procession by Hindu devotees seeking blessings, fulfilling vows and offering thanks. (Photo by Joshua Paul/AP Photo)

National Beard and Moustache Championships 2015 Just for Men National Beard and Moustache Championships Presented by Hanes X-Temp, 2nd annual event honoring the best facial hair in America, with beardsmen from all over the world invited to compete. Categories include the Dali Moustache and the Full Beard Freestyle The World Beard and Moustache Association (WBMA) Championships have been held biennially since 1995 with the next competition due in 2017 in Kings Theatre, New York, NY, USA on November 7, 2015. (Photo by Dennis Van Tine/ABACAPress)

A group of dancers pose for a photo before their performance at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery in the shantytown Villa Maria, in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, November 1, 2016, as part of the Day of the Dead festivities. The holiday honors the deceased and coincides with All Saints Day, and All Souls Day celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2. Dancing, drinking alcohol, and eating with the deceased are part of Day of the Dead celebrations. (Photo by Martin Mejia/AP Photo)

Sailors stand on the deck as the USS New York as it passes the Statue of Liberty during the start of Fleet Week May 25, 2011 in New York City. Fleet week, which has been held in New York City since 1984, celebrates the U.S. Navy and Marines Corps with a week of ship visitations and military demonstrations. Fleet Week concludes on Memorial Day with a military flyover to honor those killed while serving in the military. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

A Catholic faithful holds a figurine of baby Jesus during a religious procession on Holy Innocents Day in Antiguo Cuscatlan, on the outskirts of San Salvador, December 28, 2014. Festivities are held every December 28 in honor of children, termed the Holy Innocents, below the age of two who were ordered to be killed by King Herod, according to biblical passages. (Photo by Jose Cabezas/Reuters)