Shortlisted: “Two big eyes” by Miao Yong (Zejiang province, China). Damselflies look over the leaves. “I was photographing insects in a park near my home when suddenly I found two damselflies in the grass. They kept flying and it was very difficult to focus until suddenly they parked behind a leaf”. (Photo by Miao Yong/2017 Royal Society of Biology Photographer of the Year)

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)

Ballet dancer and performer Ashlee Montague of New York wears a gas mask while she dances in Times Square as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continued in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., March 18, 2020. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

Fans of Gimnasia de La Plata choke on tear gas during a local tournament match between Gimnasia de La Plata and Boca Juniors in La Plata, Argentina, Thursday, October 6, 2022. The match was suspended after tear gas thrown by the police outside the stadium wafted inside affecting the players as well as fans who fled to the field to avoid its effects. (Photo by Gustavo Garello/AP Photo)

A woman walks depicting a scene from the Iranian national epic poem “Shahnameh” in Tehran on August 5, 2025. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP Photo)

Hindu devotees laugh as they watch the religious festival of Lathmar Holi, where women beat the men with sticks, in the town of Barsana in the Uttar Pradesh region of India, March 17, 2016. During Lathmar Holi the women of Barsana beat the men from Nandgaon, the hometown of Krishna, with wooden sticks in response to their teasing. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)

A Sikh devotee carries on over-sized religious sword during a religious procession to celebrate the birth anniversary of the first Sikh Guru or master, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism in Amritsar, India, 05 November 2014. The birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji will be observed on 06 November. (Photo by Raminder Pal Singh/EPA)

A Palestinian man uses a sling, during clashes with Israeli forces following the killing of Palestinian assailant Uday Al-Tamimi, in Bethlehem, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on October 20, 2022. (Photo by Mussa Qawasma/Reuters)