Philadelphia Phillies Ben Francisco reacts after being hit in the head with a pitch by Cincinnati Reds Logan Ondrusek during the MLB National League Division Series baseball playoffs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States in this October 8, 2010 file photo. (Photo by Tim Shaffer/Reuters)

Michael Kefalianos of Australia prepares backstage prior to the pre judging for the 2012 IFBB Australian Pro Grand Prix XII at The Plenary on March 17, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Edward Nunn of the USA, Toney Freeman of the USA and Dexter Jackson of the USA pose during the IFBB Australia Pro Grand Prix XII at The Plenary on March 9, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone)

Luke Timms of Australia poses during the pre judging of the IFBB Australian Pro Grand Prix XI at Plenary Hall on March 12, 2011 in Melbourne, Australia.

Russian oppostion activists take part in a rally and march to Bolotnaya Square on February 4, 2012 in Moscow, Russia. Demonstrators braved temperatures as low as -20 degrees celsius as they took to the streets exactly one month before the presidential elections in protest against Vladimir Putin's efforts to return to the Kremlin for an unprecedented third term as President. (Photo by: Ilya Varlamov; Source: LiveJournal)

Mr. Olympia Phil Heath poses during a media call ahead of the 2012 IFBB Australian Pro Grand Prix XIII on March 16, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

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)

Dutch artist Suzan Drummen‘s large-scale floor installations are mesmerizing and complex circular patterns made out of mirrors and brightly colored glass. The fractal-like arrangements feature ornate and elaborate circles growing exponentially out of each other and vibrant rings of spiraling colors winding into the surface of the floor. They are composed of crystals, chromed metal, precious stones, mirrors and optical glass. A sensory experience, and visually stimulating, the glittering installations play with the architecture of the space — climbing up walls and sweeping across the surfaces — examining the idea of illusion and optical effects.