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)

Memory Suitcases is a thought-provoking series by Israeli artist Yuval Yairi that uses old, worn suitcases as canvases for nostalgic landscapes. Like scenes out of one's memory, the propped up traveling cases feature a range of sepia-toned settings. The series presents the objects as though they are relics of a civilization from yesteryear, each with their own story to tell.
There's something both heartbreaking and sentimental about the images. It appears to tell a number of stories of leaving one lifestyle for another. The suitcases hold within them a picture show of memories from a life-altering journey. Like a number of his other works, Memory Suitcases "mimics the natural process of memory."

Jeremy Davis (L) demonstrates the operation of the safe room shelter door lock to homeowner Rob Hamlin on June 18, 2011 in Neosho, Missouri. Once thought of as a luxury item there has been a surge of interest from homeowners in purchasing shelters to ride out damaging storms ever since a F5 tornado tore through the town of Joplin, Missouri. Ranging in price from $3,000 to $5,000 homeowners can supplement the cost with a mortgage insurance program offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for installing a safe room built to FEMA specifications. Lawmakers in Alabama have even considered requiring construction of storm shelters in mobile home parks after forty people died in April. (Photo by Julie Denesha/Getty Images)

In Jukkasjärvi, a village a few miles east of Kiruna, the proprietors of one hotel begin planning for a winter ice festival in March. That’s when they begin collecting some 5,000 tons of ice from the River Torne in order to prepare the Icehotel, the world’s coolest place to stay. Options for overnight stay include snow rooms, ice rooms, art suites, and the Northern Lights room, all of which range from about $300 to $900 per night. But the deluxe suite’s the only way to go. These rooms come with a critical amenity: heated ensuite bathrooms and saunas. Here: A man walks into a room in the Ice hotel in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden, December 16, 2015. (Photo by Ints Kalnins/Reuters)

Having $100 in your pocket would be so much cooler if it was designed by Martin Joubert. He went all out and created a number of different designs for the 100 USD banknotes, ranging from silly to witty. We especially liked the one with “That’s right. This is real money” written on it, showing just how many cups of coffee, basketballs, and guns you can buy with 100 dollars. All in all, even the currency that we have today is nothing but paper, even though it looks official and strict. There is nothing backing it up except for our noble military that ensures that Gulf States sell their oil using only the “green” kind of currency. (Photo by Martin Joubert)

“Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo. He appeared in numerous films and television guest roles and was nominated for an Academy Award twice (for 1960's Murder, Inc. and 1961's Pocketful of Miracles), and won the Emmy Award on five occasions (four for Columbo) and the Golden Globe award once. Director William Friedkin, when discussing Falk's role in his 1978 film The Brink's Job said that «Peter has a great range from comedy to drama. He could break your heart or he could make you laugh»”. – Wikipedia

Photo: American actor Peter Falk, best known for his role as TV detective Columbo. (Photo by Harry Benson/Express/Getty Images). 4th October 1965

Turkish artist Nezaket Ekici performs a live art performance entitled 'Emotion in Motion' on the first day of Art Basel 2015, Hong Kong, China, 13 March 2015. The Hong Kong show of Art Basel features 233 galleries from 37 countries and territories, presenting works ranging from the Modern period of the early 20th century to the most contemporary artists of today, according to the official press release. (Photo by Alex Hofford/EPA)

A woman squeezes between two public buses in downtown Lima, March 17, 2014. Bogota and two other Latin American capitals – Mexico City, and Lima in Peru – were named as the three capitals with the least safe transport systems for women in the Thomson Reuters Foundation poll of more than 6,550 women and gender and city planning experts. Women in Latin America say they face a wide range of daily threats on public transport, and not enough is done to ensure their safety. (Photo by Enrique Castro-Mendivil/Reuters)