The most stunning photos of the tiny world found under a microscope have recently been revealed as the winners of Nikon’s Small World Photomicrography Competition 2022.
The University of Geneva student Grigorii Timin, under the guidance of Dr. Michel Milinkovitch, was awarded the top prize this year for his exquisitely realistic photograph of the hand of a developing Madagascar big day gecko.
The image, which required high-resolution microscopy and image-stitching to capture, demonstrates technical brilliance with its vivid colors and straightforward composition. The outcome, with the hand’s bones, tendons, ligaments, and skin depicted in cyan and its blood cells emphasized in the orangey colors, demonstrates just how intricate these microscopic structures are.
Timin stated in a statement that the embryonic hand measured roughly 3 mm (0.12 in) in length, making it a significant sample for high-resolution microscopy. The scan took more than two days to acquire and generated roughly 200 GB of data because it consisted of 300 tiles, each of which contained about 250 optical sections.
He said, “This particular image is lovely and interesting, both in terms of an overview and also when you enlarge it in a particular place, revealing information on how the structures are structured on an acellular level.
The 48th Small World Photomicrography Competition received around 1,300 entries from 72 different nations this year. All of these contributions were examined by four judges, who graded them on the basis of their originality, informational value, technical competence, and aesthetic impact.
Eric Flem, Communications and CRM Manager at Nikon Instruments, continued, “At the nexus of art and science, this year’s competition displays breathtaking pictures from scientists, artists, and photomicrographers of various expertise levels and backgrounds from across the globe.
Dr. Caleb Dawson took home second place for his image of mouse gut blood vessel networks and contractile myoepithelial cells wrapped around milk-producing alveoli in breast tissue, while Satu Paavonsalo and Dr. Sinem Karaman took home third place.
Below are some of the top 10 pictures, along with a huge list of other awards and honorable mentions. Check out this year’s Nikon Small World in Motion competition as well by clicking here.
