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)

Early morning paddle boarder enjoys late days of summer on Trent Severn Waterway in Rosedale, Ont., Thursday, September 3, 2020. (Photo by Canadian Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Reflected in an ornament, a reporter takes a photo of the White House Christmas Tree in the Blue Room during a media preview of the holiday decor at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 29, 2016. (Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

A steam traction engine with a broken rear axle in Pall Mall, London. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). November 1923

Anthony Joshua, right, knocks down Andy Ruiz during the third round of a heavyweight championship boxing match Saturday, June 1, 2019, in New York. Ruiz won in the seventh round. (Photo by Frank Franklin II/AP Photo)

Kendall Jenner seen at Universal, NBC, Focus Features, E! Entertainment Golden Globes After Party Sponsored by Chrysler on Sunday, January 8, 2017, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Focus Features/AP Images)

“Be prepared” is the motto of petite Doris Sherrell, vocalist and dancer with “Blackouts of 1942”. In the event of a bombing, the young lady had her social security number tattooed on one leg by artist Jack Julian, and address placed on the other limb for means of identification in Los Angeles, September 29, 1942. (Photo by AP Photo)

Revellers pose during the Street Parade dance music event in Zurich, Switzerland August 13, 2016. (Photo by Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)