A picture taken on October 17, 2014 in Vevey shows a giant fork designed by Switzerland's artist Jean-Pierre Zaugg to commemorate Nestle's Alimentarium Food Museum 10th anniversary. World's biggest food company, Swiss Nestle Group announced results sales down by 3.1% for the first nine months of 2014 to 66.2 billion Swiss francs (55.1 billion euros). (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Photo)

Most people know Nikon as a purveyor of pro and consumer-grade digital cameras. But the company's expertise with optics bleeds over into related markets – it's one of the science community's major suppliers of microscopes. And each year the company asks the community to send it some of their favorite images of tiny objects. A panel of scientists and journalists have chosen the best of this past year's submissions, which Nikon has placed on its Small World site.

Photo: Honorable Mention. “Snow crystal, illuminated with colored lights (5x)”. (Photo by Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Department of Physics, Pasadena, California, USA)

An Armatix employee holds a “smart gun” by the company at the Armatix headquarters in Munich May 14, 2014. The gun is implanted with an electronic chip that allows it to be fired only if the shooter is wearing a watch that communicates with it through a radio signal. If the gun is moved more than 10 inches (25 cm) from the watch, it will not fire. A Maryland gun shop owner has dropped his plan to be the first in the United States to sell the so-called “smart gun” after a backlash that included death threats. (Photo by Michael Dalder/Reuters)

Hideki Tokoro, president of whaling company Kyodo Senpaku, boards Japan's new whaling mothership, the Kangei Maru, following the ship's launch ceremony at a port in Shimonoseki city, Yamaguchi prefecture on May 21, 2024. The nearly 9,300-tonne ship set sail on its maiden hunting voyage on May 21, heralding a new era for the controversial practice defended by the government as an integral part of national culture. (Photo by Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP Photo)

American model Kaia Gerber (L) and American actress Kate Hudson attend the “Shell” After Party during the Toronto International Film Festival at Elevation Pictures on September 13, 2024. In this dark comedy and body horror about society's obsession with youth and good looks, an actress (Elisabeth Moss) challenges a beauty firm CEO (Kate Hudson) over her company's questionable science. (Photo by ZUMAPRESS.com/The Mega Agency)

A 2014 Soccer Calendar, inspired by the World Cup, and commissioned by a beer company (we can't provide client info) featuring women doing the 12 most famous moves in soccer.
Tim Tadder traveled around Brazil shooting the backgrounds and collaborated with the talented Mike Campau to blend the scenes together to create a truely unique set of images.

Window washers from the American National Skyline company (from left to right in the image below: Jordan Emerson, Steve Oszaniec and Danny Oszaniec) suit up as Marvel Comics superheroes to pleasantly surprise the children (who are patients) and their families inside as the dressed up crew cleans the outside of the windows at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis

Former Ministry of Defence motorbikes (guide price £650 to £1250) being serviced ready for potential buyers on August 12, 2011 in Colsterworth, England. Witham LTD sells a variety of former MOD equipment and vehicles to foreign countries, domestic companies and private individuals. (Photo by Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images)