Now celebrating its 40th year, Nikon Small World is widely regarded as the leading forum to recognize proficiency and photographic excellence of photography taken under the microscope. To select the winners, competition judges analyzed entries from all over the world covering subjects ranging from chemical compounds to up-close-and-personal looks at biological specimens. The 2014 winners will be revealed on October 30th. In 2014, the competition received over 1,200 entries from more than 79 countries around the world. (Photo by Dr. Igor Robert Siwanowicz/Nikon Small World 2014)

It is simply staggering how complicated some items really are. We never think about it, but some items that we use every day consist of hundreds of parts meticulously put together and working perfectly. Todd McLellan is a photographer who based his newest book “Things Come Apart” on the complexity of various old and new tech. By carefully taking apart various items and arranging all of the parts in perfect order, Todd has allowed us not only to look inside various appliances, but also to appreciate the astounding complexity of these items. Just like the human mind, we are so used to seeing and talking with people that we forget just how complicated their minds really are. It would be great if we could “take apart” the human mind in order to gain some insight into the person’s thoughts and desires. However, very few people are capable of doing it, while the rest will remain blind to the obvious. (Photo by Todd McLellan)

Sébastien Del Grosso is a French artist and a photographer, who will allow you to enter the world of surrealism, which combines photography and hand-drawn art. His works masterfully blur the transition between the real photo and the picture. By viewing his works, we can see that Sébastien is not only a master of creating photo illusions, but also a person who tries to show his inner world through his art. His emotions, his feelings, his fears and desires are all vividly and skillfully expressed in simple strokes of a pencil. He is the continuation of his art. So much so, that he loses his identity, fearing it, but being unable to stop. (Photo by Sébastien Del Grosso)

Documenting the effects of climate change first hand over the past eight years, Camille Seaman fears we may be on the road to the last iceberg. Photographing the enormous frozen floats at both poles for the past eight years, the Californian adventurer has seen the receding ice shelves and experienced the changing warmer weather. Feeling that her intimate and emotional work documents a snapshot of history, Camille presents her series “The Last Iceberg” as a study of what she sees as the personality of each huge iceberg. Drawing parallels with the famous novel, “The Last of the Mohicans”, Camille, 42, wonders whether these unique, almost alien natural features will become a thing of the past or part of nature's renewal process. (Photo by Camille Seaman/Barcroft Media)

Ramela Meseljevic, a 7 year-old girl born without both of her hands and one of her legs shorter than the other, writes during classes in the her school in Begov Han, Bosnia and Herzegovina December 2, 2015. International Day of Disabled Persons is observed on December 3 with the theme "Inclusion matters: access and empowerment of people of all abilities". (Photo by Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

A photographer with a passion for wild animals was able to get up close and personal with one of nature’s deadliest creatures. Alex Suh has traveled to Mexico’s Banco Chinchorro reef twice in the past three years to get into the waters and capture the crocodiles in their natural habitat after an invitation from Yucatan Dive Trek. (Photo by Alex Suh/Caters News Agency)

A screen shows the new Automated Target Recognition software as a TSA employee, who couldn't provide her name, waits to walk into the advanced imaging technology unit to demostrate the new software that has been installed at Miami International Airport on August 23, 2011 in Miami, Florida. The new software is designed to enhance passenger privacy by eliminating passenger-specific images and instead auto-detecting potential threat items and indicating their location on a screen which shows a generic outline of a person. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Yogis and street performers have been simulating levitation with nifty contraptions forever. They appear to be held aloft via nothing but their preternatural mental prowess. But are really enjoying the benefits of basic physics just like the rest of us when we use a chair. However, just because it’s perfectly explainable doesn’t mean it isn’t nifty. I’m especially impressed by this 2-person version and am still trying to work out how exactly the chair they’re using is shaped at the base.