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 fisherman with a close bond to cormorants uses the flock of birds to catch big fish in Li river in Guilin, China. The aquatic birds can be seen perching on a bamboo raft before swooping into the calm water to grasp hold of prey. (Photo by Julia Wimmerlin/Solnet News & Photo Agency)

A brushtail possum whose ears and legs have been burnt from recent bushfires sits in a cage before being transported to a wildlife hospital, in Batemans Bay, South of Sydney, Australia, 14 January 2020. (Photo by Steven Saphore/EPA/EFE)

4-year-old Tasmina adjusts her protective face mask as she waits with her family for a train at a railway station, as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Karachi, Pakistan on June 9, 2020. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

A taxi driver seen sleeping on his taxi in the middle of a decorated street during the Durga Puja Festival in Kolkata, India on October 22, 2020. (Photo by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A foreign passenger wearing a protective suit poses as they prepare for their flight at Manila's International Airport, Philippines, Monday, January 18, 2021. Coronavirus infections in the Philippines have surged past 500,000 in a new bleak milestone with the government facing criticisms for failing to immediately launch a vaccination program amid a global scramble for COVID-19 vaccines. (Photo by Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

A doorman stands at the entrance of the “The Walled Off Hotel” in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Friday, March 3, 2017. The owner of a guest house packed with the elusive artist Banksy's work has opened the doors of his West Bank establishments to media, showcasing its unique “worst view in the world”. The hotel, several of whose rooms look onto an Israeli security watchtower, is awash in the trademark satirical work of the mysterious artist. (Photo by Dusan Vranic/AP Photo)

Migrants try to board a truck at Ouistreham ferry port in the hope of reaching the UK on September 12, 2018 in Ouistreham, France. After the clamp down at Calais many young migrants are seeking out new routes to the United Kingdom as stowaways on vehicles making the channel crossing by ferry from French ports. The migrants, of mostly African origin, camp out on the roadside and woodland areas as the authorities prevent the setting up of any camps. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)