Alejandro Simon of Spain prepares to serve during their Preliminary Phase Pool E match against Canada during the VISA FIVB Beach Volleyball International at Horse Guards Parade on August 10, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

Trainers from Tianjiao Special Guard/Security Consultant Ltd. Co. engage trainees dressed in swimming suits as they crawl on the beach during a training session in Sanya, Hainan province January 8, 2012. (Photo by CHINA DAILY/Reuters)

A man rides a horse through a bonfire as part of a ritual in honor of Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals, in San Bartolome de Pinares, about 100 km west of Madrid, Spain on Thursday, January 16, 2014. On the eve of Saint Anthony's Day, hundreds ride their horses through the narrow cobblestone streets of the small village of San Bartolome during the “Luminarias”, a tradition that dates back 500 years and is meant to purify the animals with the smoke of the bonfires and protect them for the year to come. (Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP 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)

National Beard and Moustache Championships 2015 Just for Men National Beard and Moustache Championships Presented by Hanes X-Temp, 2nd annual event honoring the best facial hair in America, with beardsmen from all over the world invited to compete. Categories include the Dali Moustache and the Full Beard Freestyle The World Beard and Moustache Association (WBMA) Championships have been held biennially since 1995 with the next competition due in 2017 in Kings Theatre, New York, NY, USA on November 7, 2015. (Photo by Dennis Van Tine/ABACAPress)

A Hindu devotee girl stands after getting her tongue pierced with a metal rod during the Thaipusam festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday, February 3, 2015. Thaipusam, which is celebrated in honor of Hindu god Lord Murugan, is an annual procession by Hindu devotees seeking blessings, fulfilling vows and offering thanks. (Photo by Joshua Paul/AP Photo)

A group of dancers pose for a photo before their performance at the Nueva Esperanza cemetery in the shantytown Villa Maria, in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, November 1, 2016, as part of the Day of the Dead festivities. The holiday honors the deceased and coincides with All Saints Day, and All Souls Day celebrated on Nov. 1 and 2. Dancing, drinking alcohol, and eating with the deceased are part of Day of the Dead celebrations. (Photo by Martin Mejia/AP Photo)

Two guards perform an execution in China, one holding the gun, the other holding a mask over the victim's face. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images). Circa 1925