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)

Fiona McGarva holds one of the sculptures from the art installation Gratitude at The Forth Bridge at North Queensferry on September 15, 2021, ahead of going on display just outside of Edinburgh at Newhailes House and Gardens from Friday 17th September. The public art installation pays tribute to NHS staff and all key workers for their ongoing courage and dedication during the Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images)

Nine years ago, Tom Carter traveled from San Francisco to China, responding to a job posting that turned out to be a scam. He managed to find another job as a teacher, and saved enough money to embark on a 56,000 km trip through all of China's 33 provinces that lasted two years. Carrying a camera – just a a 4-megapixel point-and-shoot – Carter captured some amazing images of the widely varying landscape, people, and architecture across the nation. Photo: Buddhist pilgrim family from Sichuan. (Photo by Tom Carter via The Atlantic)

A gopher tortoise walks the grounds of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, near the Vehicle Assembly Building on January 18, 2024. An all-European crew including Turkey's first astronaut are poised to blast off to the International Space Station in a mission with Axiom Space, as countries hungry for a taste of space turn increasingly to the private sector. (Photo by Chandan Khanna/AFP Photo)

The first four finalists are selected during the 66th Miss Universe pageant at Planet Hollywood hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 26, 2017. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Reuters)

Union Berlin players celebrate after the Bundesliga playoff second leg match between 1. FC Union Berlin and VfB Stuttgart at Stadion an der alten Foersterei on May 27, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Annegret Hilse/Reuters)

Students protest in red underwear on the Plein in The Hague, The Netherlands, 02 June 2021. The action is part of the #NietMijnSchuld campaign by Dutch union FNV Young & United and the National Student Union LSVb, which are campaigning for a debt-free basic grant. (Photo by Bart Maat/EPA/EFE)