Tiny Insect Portrait Captures First Place in 2011 Nikon Small World Competition

October 5, 2011

Annual Competition Honours Top Photomicrographs from Around the World

Nikon is pleased to announce the winners of the 2011 Small World Photomicrography Competition, with this year’s top honors going to Dr. Igor Siwanowicz for a micrograph that demonstrates the beauty in “ugly”

When a small bug landed on Dr. Igor Siwanowicz’s hand and began “fiercely digging its mandibles” into his skin, he didn’t swat it away. Instead, he removed a tiny test tube from his pocket – which he carries for occasions such as these – and captured it as a potential subject for his photomicrography passion.

Little did he know at the time, but this chance meeting with what is actually the Common Green Lacewing would lead to Dr. Siwanowicz, of Madison, Wisconsin being named the winner of the 2011 Nikon Small World competition.  Nikon Small World recognizes excellence in photomicrography, honoring images that successfully showcase the delicate balance between difficult scientific technique and exquisite artistic quality.

“My art causes a dissonance for its viewer - a conflict between the culturally imprinted perception of an insect as something repulsive and ugly with a newly-acquired admiration of the beauty of its form,” said Dr. Siwanowicz, who completed his doctoral studies in protein crystallography but now works in invertebrate photography for research. “My hope is that in some way, my photomicrographs prompt people to realize the presence of cultural programming, question it, and eventually throw it off as an illusion. I am so pleased to be recognized by Nikon Small World for this philosophy, but also the technical expertise it required to capture this photo.”

Dr. Siwanowicz only had one take to capture his specimen because of specific needs for its dissection. Using a confocal microscope, he carefully fixed and dyed the sample to take the image – difficult as the head of the bug measured just 1.3 mm in length.

“Year over year, we receive spectacular images for the Nikon Small World Competition, and it is our privilege to honor the talented researchers and photomicrographers who submit their amazing work,” said Eric Flem, Communications Manager, Nikon Instruments. “As evidenced by Dr. Siwanowicz, the difficulty in marrying technique and aesthetics is no easy feat.  We are proud that this competition is able to showcase this beautiful imagery and demonstrate some of the many facets of science.”

The top five images this year are:

1. Dr. Igor Siwanowicz 
   Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology; Portrait of a Chrysopa sp. (green lacewing) larva
2. Dr. Donna Stolz 
   University of Pittsburgh; Blade of Grass
3. Frank Fox 
   Fachhochschule Trier; Melosira Moniliformis, living specimen
4. Dr. Robin Young 
   The University of British Columbia; Instrinsic flouresence in Lepidozia reptans (liverwort)
5. Alfred Pasieka 
   Hilden Germany; Microchip surface, 3D Construction

Nikon has also awarded several “Honorable Mentions” and “Images of Distinction” this year to outstanding photomicrographs that demonstrate superior technical competency and artistic skill.  This year, the competition awarded 92 winners (some of whom won multiple times) and received entries from almost 70 countries around the world.

This year’s judges were once again comprised of top science and media industry experts: Alan Boyle, Science Editor, MSNBC.com; Dan Vergano, Science Columnist, USA Today; Simon Watkins, Ph.D., Founder and Director of The University of Pittsburg Center for Biological Imaging and Professor and Vice Chairman for Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at the University Of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; and Richard Day, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, Indiana University School of Medicine.

Top images from the 2011 Nikon Small World Competition will be exhibited in a full-colour calendar and through a national museum tour. For additional information, please visit www.nikonsmallworld.com, or follow the conversation on Facebook and Twitter @NikonSmallWorld. 

THE OFFICIAL 2011 NIKON SMALL WORLD WINNERS

The following are the Top 20 and Honorable Mentions for Nikon Small World 2010. The full gallery of winning images, along with Images of Distinction can be viewed at www.nikonsmallworld.com.
 
 1^st Place
 Dr. Igor Siwanowicz
 Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology
 Martinsried, Germany
 Portrait of a Chrysopa sp. (green lacewing) larva (20x)
 Confocal

2^nd Place
 Dr. Donna Stolz
 University of Pittsburgh
 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
 Blade of Grass (200X)
 Confocal stack reconstruction, Autofluorescence

3^rd Place
 Frank Fox
 Fachhochschule Trier
 Trier, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
 Melosira moniliformis, living specimen (320X)
 Differential Interference Contrast
 

4^th Place  Dr. Robin Young
The University of British Columbia
 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
 Intrinsic fluorescence in Lepidozia reptans (liverwort) (20X)
 Live mount, Confocal microscopy

5^th Place
 Alfred Pasieka
Germany
 Microchip surface, 3D reconstruction (500X)
 Incident light, Normarski Interference Contrast

6^th Place
 Dennis Callahan
 California Institute of Technology
 Pasadena, California, USA
 Cracked gallium arsenide solar cell films (50X)
 Brightfield

7^th Place
Gabriel Luna
 UC Santa Barbara, Neuroscience Research Institute
 Santa Barbara, California, USA
 Retinal flatmount of mouse nerve fiber layer (40X)
 Laser Confocal Scanning

8^th Place
 Dr. Bernardo Cesare
 Department of Geosciences
 Padova, Italy
 Graphite-bearing granulite from Kerala (India) (2.5X)
 Polarized light

9^th Place
 Dr. Jan Michels
 Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
 Kiel, Germany
 Temora longicornis (marine copepod), ventral view (10X)
 Confocal, Autofluorescence and Congo Red Fluorescence

10^th Place
 Joan Röhl
 Institute for Biochemistry and Biology
 Potsdam, Germany
 Daphnia magna (freshwater water flea) (100X)
 Differential Interference Contrast

11^th Place
 Dr. Jan Michels
 Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
 Kiel, Germany
 Ant head, frontal view (10X)
 Confocal, autofluorescence

12^th Place
Thomas Deerinck
 National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research
 La Jolla, California, USA
 HeLa (cancer) cells (300X)
 2-Photon fluorescence

13^th Place
Dr. Stephen S. Nagy
 Montana Diatoms
 Helena, Montana, USA
 Curare vine in cross-section, Chondrodendron tomentosum (45X)
 Brightfield, digitally inverted

14^th Place
Yanping Wang
 Beijing Planetarium
 Beijing, China
 Sand (4X)
 Reflected light

15^th Place
James H. Nicholson
Coral Culture and Collaborative Research Facility, NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCEHBR & HML
Charleston, South Carolina, USA
 Porites lobata (lobe coral), live specimen displaying tissue pigmentation response with red fluorescence (12X)
 Epifluorescence with triple band (U/B/G) excitation

16^th Place
Dr. Christopher Guérin
 VIB (Flanders Institute of Biotechnology)
 Ghent, Belgium
 Cultured cells growing on a bio-polymer scaffold (63X)
 Confocal

17^th Place
Dr. Witold Kilarski
 EPFL-Laboratory of Lymphatic and Cancer Bioengineering
 Lausanne, Switzerland
 Litomosoides sigmodontis (filaria worms) inside lymphatic vessels of the mouse ear (150X)
 Fluorescent confocal microscopy

18^th Place
 Benjamin Blonder, David Elliott
University of Arizona
 Tucson, Arizona, USA
 Venation network of young Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen) leaf (4X)
 Brightfield image of safranin-stained tissue

19^th Place
Dr. Donna Stolz
 The University of Pittsburgh
 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
 Mammalian cell collage stained for various proteins and organelles, assembled into a wreath (200-2000X)
 Single slice confocal cell mosaic

20^th Place
Douglas Moore
University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
Stevens Point, Wisconsin, USA
 Agatized dinosaur bone cells, unpolished, ca. 150 million years old (42X)
 Stereomicroscopy

Honorable Mentions
 
 Jose R. Almodovar
 Microscopy Center, Biology Department, UPR Mayaguez Campus
 Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, USA
 Utricularia gibba (bladderwort) bladder (40X)
 Darkfield

Dr. Paul Appleton
University of Dundee
Dundee, Scotland, UK
Mouse small intestine, stem cells in crypts (40X)
Confocal
Dr. Pedro Barrios-Perez
National Research Council of Canada/Institute for Microstructural Sciences
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Gallium antimonide semiconductor wafer surface after metal peel-off (200X)

Dr. Jorge Bernardino de la Serna
MEMPHYS - Center for Biomembrane Physics, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Odense, Denmark
Giant liposomes of pulmonary surfactant (40X)
Confocal 

Gerd A. Guenther
Duesseldorf, Germany
Nassula ornata (freshwater ciliate), conjugation, living specimens (630X)
Differential Interference Contrast

Dr. Marta Guervos
Image
Processing Unit, Scientific-Technical Facilities, University of Oviedo

Asturias, Spain
Acacia dealbata (Silver Wattle) pollen grains (40X)

Confocal, autofluorescence

Charles Krebs
Charles Krebs Photography
Issaquah, Washington, USA
Hydra sp. capturing water flea (40X)
Darkfield

Dr. David Maitland
www.davidmaitland.com
Feltwell, UK
Enormous dorsal (10X)
Reflected (Episcopic), Diffuse Illumination

Poulomi Ray
Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina, USA
Chick embryo intestine (20X)
Confocal

Kevin Smith
MetPrep Ltd.
Warwickshire, UK
Charge coupled device (CCD) sensor, direct surface view (1000x)
Confocal

Wim van Egmond
Micropolitan Museum
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Argulus (fish louse) (60X)
Darkfield

Yanping Wang
Beijing Planetarium
Beijing, China
Snowflake (4X)
Reflected and transmitted light

Dr. Torsten Wittmann
University of California, San Fransisco
San Francisco, California, USA
Bovine pulmonary artery endothelial (BPAE) cells fixed and stained for actin, mitochondria, and DNA (60X)
Epi-fluorescence; multi-image stitching

ABOUT THE NIKON SMALL WORLD PHOTOMICROGRAPHY COMPETITION

The Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition is open to anyone with an interest in photography. Participants may submit their images in traditional 35mm format, or upload digital images directly at www.nikonsmallworld.com. The first, second and third prize winners will receive a selection of Nikon products and equipment worth $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. For additional information, contact Nikon Small World, Nikon Instruments Inc., 1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, NY 11747, USA or phone (631) 547-8569.