Each year Nikon Small World recognizes the excellence of photography taken under the microscope. The contest showcases the beauty and complexity of life. Anyone interested in microscopy and photography can enter the contest and in its 42nd year, Nikon Small World received 2,000 entries from 70 countries. Here: 11th Place; Scales of a butterfly wing underside (Vanessa atalanta). (Photo by Francis Sneyers/Nikon's Small World 2016)

In Omdurman, the largest city in Sudan, the Qadiriyya Sufi order meets every Friday outside Sheikh Hamed Al Nil mosque, which houses the tomb of their 19th century Sufi leader. (Photo by Ala Kheir, John Burns and Ibrahim Algrefwi/Brownbook)

A pool ingeniously filled with clear water in the middle of Lake Kerniki in Greece enabled this shot of feeding pelicans. (Photo by Bence Mate/Close Up Photographer of the Year 2020)

A huge atlas moth, with a wingspan of more than 9in, photographed on an areca nut plantation in Sirsi, India. (Photo by Uday Hegde/Close Up Photographer of the Year)

A flock of starlings is seen as they perform their traditional dance fly before landing to sleep during the sunset near the southern Arab Israeli city of Rahat, in the northern Israeli Negev desert, on February 2, 2015. (Photo by Menahem Kahana/AFP Photo)

Cambodian motorcyclists drive near a double rainbow, following the conclusion of a ceasefire deal between Cambodia and Thailand, in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on July 29, 2025. (Photo by Daniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty Images)

A young boy lifts heavy bricks as he works at brick factory around Kathmandu valley. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)

With the United Nations and Tudor City in the foreground, lightning strikes in the sky over the East River as a major storm approaches New York City July 2, 2014. Tropical Storm Arthur, the first of the Atlantic hurricane season, gathered strength July 20, 2014 and would likely reach hurricane strength over the next couple of days. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)