In this picture taken Thursday, August 4, 2016, seal Tristan looks out of a basket while being released into the North Sea together with others at the beach of the island Juist, Germany. He is part of the first group of released seals of the seal breeding station Norddeich this year. (Photo by Carmen Jaspersen/DPA via AP Photo)

In this January 4, 2016 photo, the weapon of a rebel fighter for the 36th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, hangs from a branch serving as a makeshift clothesline, near a rebel camp, in Antioquia state, in the northwest Andes of Colombia. “We’ll lay aside our weapons, like the accord says, but never hand them over”, says Juan Pablo, a commander of the 36th Front. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

A boy collects drinking water from a hand pump in Kutubdia, Bangladesh on March 30, 2016. Kutubdia is one of many islands affected by some of the fastest recorded sea-level rises in the world. The island has halved in size in 20 years. (Photo by SIipa/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

In this photograph taken on June 11, 2018, Chinese artists performs during a Indo-China cultural exchange program in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)

A woman in traditional Malaysian attire welcomes leaders to the official dinner at the venue of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia November 21, 2015. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

An Afghan man rides on his donkey, holding balloons for sale during Newroz Day celebrations, a festival marking their spring and new year, in Kabul, Afghanistan March 21, 2017. (Photo by Omar Sobhani/Reuters)

A male red deer with antlers covered in bracken, walks through undergrowth in Richmond Park in south west London, October 3, 2014. Over 600 red and fallow deer roam in the largest of London's Royal Parks, and have their numbers managed in an annual cull each November and February. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

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)