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)

A youth dives into a crater filled with water in Aleppo's al-Shaar district, in this July 10, 2014 file photo. (Photo by Hosam Katan/Reuters)

Mount Sinabung volcano erupts, as seen from Tiga Pancur village, Karo Regency in Indonesia's North Sumatra province, in this October 8, 2014 file photo. (Photo by Y. T. Haryono/Reuters)

Swimmers known as the Lido Ladies pose by the pool during sunrise at Charlton Lido in Hornfair Park, London on December 2, 2020, on its first day of reopening after the second national lockdown ended and England enters a strengthened tiered system of regional coronavirus restrictions. (Photo by Victoria Jones/PA Images via Getty Images)

A green iguana, or American iguana sits on an Aldabra giant tortoise, the largest tortoise of the world, in their enclosure at the zoo park of Lille, northern France, on February 11, 2019. (Photo by Philippe Huguen/AFP Photo)

Festival goers attend Splendour In The Grass 2019 on July 20, 2019 in Byron Bay, Australia. Splendour is an annual Australian music festival, showcases popular and established musical artists, as well as emerging Australian artists. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

A boy plays on the glass at Thailand's first skywalk in Bangkok, Thailand on November 18, 2018. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

Indian Hindu sadhus (holy men) from the Juna Akhara take part in a religious procession towards Sangam area, during the first “royal entry” for the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad on December 25, 2018. (Photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP Photo)