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)

A juvenile blackcap is recorded in the soft light of morning at Minorca, UK, a former open-cast mine near Moira in the National Forest on June 18, 2025. Dr Heather Gilbert, research and evidence manager, checks mist nets among wildflowers and young trees as part of long-term monitoring that shows bird numbers have increased by 48 per cent over 30 years. (Photo by Rod Kirkpatrick/RKP Photography)

A performer and his son parade during a gathering of sapeurs in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on February 10, 2023. Flamboyant dandies paraded near the tomb of one of their icons in DR Congo's capital Kinshasa, flaunting coveted designer labels in stark contrast to the grinding poverty surrounding them. Dozens of extravagantly dressed dandies, known locally as sapeurs, turned up on February 10, 2023 to commemorate the death of Stervos Niarcos, a pop star and one of the most famous of Congo's legendary dandies. Niarcos, who died in 1995, epitomises the fanatical pursuit of elegance for many in the abysmally poor central African country. (Photo by Alexis Huguet/AFP Photo)

A death mask thought to be that of English dramatist William Shakespeare (1566–1616). Found by Dr. Ludwig Becker in Mainz in 1849, the mask was linked to Shakespeare because of its 1616 date and its supposed facial resemblance to the writer. A rival theory, however, maintains that the mask is more likely to be that of English poet Ben Johnson. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1900

“Photocillin is the pseudonym of Dr Andy Teo, physician and people photographer based in the Surrey/Hampshire borders near London in the UK. My style is about showing the beauty of people and the world in which they live in a retro-utopian way”. – Andy Teo. Photo: “Walking six feet tall”. (Photo by Photocillin)

Men skin slaughtered sheep on the first day of the Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday in Wad Hamid, about 100 kilometres north of Sudan's capital, on June 28, 2023. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

American social media personality, golf instructor and former professional golfer Paige Spiranac attends MAXIM Hot 100 Experience at Hyde Beach at SLS South Beach on July 16, 2022 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by @_paige.renee/Instagram)

The Burney, a new streamlined car on the London streets, designed by Sir Denniston Burney who was responsible for the design of the R100 (R 100) airship. The engine is in the rear. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). 15th September 1930