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 team of Irish dancers celebrate after winning the under 12's group kaylee World Irish Dance Championship on April 2, 2016 in Brighton, England. The 8th World and 11th European Irish Dance Championships sees over 1500 dancers from 26 countries, speaking over 20 languages, competing in a variety of contests at the Brighton Centre on the city's beachfront. The event is organised by the World Irish Dance Association and is billed as the “Irish Dance Spectacular”. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images)

Frances Fowler leads the Bowie VFD Marching Thoroughbreds in the Bowie 4th of July Parade in Bowie, Md., on July 4, 1976. (Photo by James M. Thresher/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

A baby turtle's perilous first moments are captured as it takes to the sea for the first time on Heron Island in Queensland, Australia in July 2022. Predators such as sharks, birds, and pollution mean that approximately only one out of every 1000 turtles that hatch make it to adulthood, with some not even reaching open ocean. Amateur photographer (Photo by Hannah Mitchell/Solent News & Photo Agency)

Hemispheric color differences on Saturn's moon Rhea are apparent in this false-color view from NASA's Cassini spacecraft in this March 2, 2010 file photo. (Photo by Reuters/NASA/JPL/SSI)

A girl covers her face as she is daubed in colours during the religious festival of Holi inside a temple in Nandgaon village, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, March 5, 2020. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

In this photograph taken on August 25, 2016, an Afghan shepherd watches over his sheep as they graze on the outskirts of Herat. (Photo by Aref Karimi/AFP Photo)

New Zealand singer and songwriter Kimbra Lee Johnson showed off her ageless appearance in a new photo shoot early February 2024. (Photo by Spencer Ostrander)