MELVILLE, N.Y., Oct. 8, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A magnificent depiction of the essence of floral life, a gorgeous photograph of a thale cress anther (the male sex organ of a small flowering plant) is the winning image in the 2009 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. Heiti Paves of Tallinn, Estonia took the top honor with this image, which was magnified 20 times and taken using a confocal microscope.
Nikon Small World recognizes Dr. Paves' image, along with the other winners from this year, for showing both scientific and artistic qualities. More than 2,000 entries were received this year, the most ever for the competition, from scientists and artists across the world. The winning images were selected by a distinguished panel of judges.
"As part of my work as a research scientist, I have been taking photographs through the microscope for almost 30 years to observe the processes in living cells. I have spent a lot of time to capture nice pictures worthy of submission to the Nikon Small World Competition," said Heiti Paves, a scientist of Tallinn University of Technology. "I am honored to receive this recognition and am excited for the opportunity to share my work broadly."
Now in its 35th year, Nikon Small World is the oldest and most respected competition of its kind. The competition, which has become the preeminent forum for showcasing the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope, celebrates the world's best photomicrographers who create beautiful imagery while showcasing a wide variety of advanced scientific disciplines. Nikon Small World recognizes photomicrographers for their achievements in capturing dynamic images at the intersection of science and art.
"We are lucky to see some of the most unbelievable things under the microscope. This competition is truly the world's gallery, giving researchers and photographers globally the opportunity to share their amazing work," said Lee Shuett, executive vice president, Nikon Instruments. "Every year the competition gets better and better. It is clearly reflecting the discovery process -- not in just life science but in industry as well."
The top five images this year include Dr. Paves' thale cress anther, Gerd Guenther's picture of a spiny sowthistle's stem, Dr. Pedro Barrios-Perez's image of a wrinkled photoresist, James Hayden's colorful, spiraling image of an anglerfish ovary and Bruno Vellutini's photomicrograph of the oral surface of a young seastar. Nikon has also awarded several "Honorable Mentions" and "Images of Distinction" this year to outstanding photomicrographs that demonstrate superior technical competency and artistic skill.
"The Nikon Small World competition provides a premier opportunity to have your work seen by an enormous amount of international venues," said Mr. James Hayden, director of the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia and 2009 Small World 4th Place winner with a colorful, spiraling image of an anglerfish ovary. "As the competition has grown through film and digital techniques, it has showcased amazing new technologies like confocal and 2-photon imaging, and it has helped create that spark of interest in a new generation. These images are ambassadors -- introducing the scientific accomplishments of the research world to the general public."
This year's judges again represented top industry experts and included Gary Borisy, Ph.D., Director and Chief Executive Officer, Marine Biological Laboratory; Charles Krebs, Photographer, Charles Krebs Photography; James Shreeve, Science Editor, National Geographic; and Clive Thompson, Journalist.
Top images from the 2009 Nikon Small World Competition will be exhibited in a full-color 2010 calendar and through a national museum tour. For additional information, including tour cities and dates, please visit www.nikonsmallworld.com.
THE OFFICIAL 2009 NIKON SMALL WORLD WINNERS
The 2009 gallery of winning images can be viewed at www.nikonsmallworld.com.
1st Place Dr. Heiti Paves Tallinn University of Technology Tallinn, Estonia Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) anther (20x) Confocal 2nd Place Gerd A. Guenther Dusseldorf, Germany Sonchus asper (spiny sowthistle) flower stem section (150x) Darkfield 3rd Place Dr. Pedro Barrios-Perez Institute for Microstructural Sciences National Research Council of Canada Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Wrinkled photoresist (200x) Brightfield 4th Place James Hayden The Wistar Institute Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Anglerfish ovary (4x) Two-channel Autofluorescence 5th Place Bruno Vellutini Centro de Biologia Marinha Universidade de Sao Paulo Sao Paulo, Brazil Oral surface of a young seastar (40x) Darkfield 6th Place Dr. Havi Sarfaty Israel Veterinary Association Ramat-Gan, Israel Discus fish scales (20x) Transmitted Light 7th Place Dr. Shirley Owens Michigan State University (retired) East Lansing, Michigan, USA Hair-like trichomes on Thunbergia alata (Black-eyed Susan vine) (450x) Confocal Fluorescence and Reflection 8th Place Dr. Lloyd Donaldson Scion, Next Generation Biomaterials Rotorua, New Zealand Cotton fibers stained with berberine sulphate and color depth shaded (200x) Confocal Fluorescence 9th Place Dr. Bernardo Cesare Dipartimento di Geoscienze Universita degli Studi di Padova Padova, Italy Olivine inclusions in gabbro (magmatic rock) (5x) Polarized Transmitted Light 10th Place Dr. Arlene Wechezak Anacortes, Washington, USA Algae and diatoms (10x) Darkfield 11th Place Dominik Paquet Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen Adolf Butenandt Institute Munich, Germany "Alzheimer" Zebrafish, stained for Tau (red), neurons (green), and pathologic Tau (blue) (10x) Confocal 12th Place Dr. Tsutomu Seimiya Tokyo Metropolitan University Tokyo, Japan Flow pattern in draining soap film (10x) Simple Microscope 13th Place Dr. John Hart Hart3D Films Boulder, Colorado, USA Recrystallized melted mixture of acetanalide, resorcinal and carbon tetrabromide (33x) Transmitted Polarized Light 14th Place Tora Bardal Department of Biology NTNU Center of Fisheries and Aquaculture Trondheim, Norway Lobster egg (3.2x) Darkfield 15th Place Fabrice Parais DIREN Basse-Normandie Herouville-Saint-Clair, France Atherix ibis (fly) aquatic larva (25x) Stereomicroscopy 16th Place Massimo Brizzi Microcosmo Italia Empoli, Firenze, Italy Snail eggs (200x) Differential Interference Contrast 17th Place Dr. Rebekah R. Helton Department of Biological Sciences University of Delaware Newark, Delaware, USA Stopwatch (2.5x) Confocal (with Depth Coding) 18th Place Dr. Julia Sero Children's Hospital Boston Harvard Medical School Boston, Massachusetts, USA Human skin on fibronectin with growth factor (60x) Confocal 19th Place Yanping Wang Beijing Planetarium Beijing, China Snowflake (40x) Reflected and Transmitted Light 20th Place Dr. Havi Sarfaty Israel Veterinary Association Ramat-Gan, Israel Rusted old coin (40x) Reflected Light Honorable Mentions Dr. Dylan Burnette National Institute of Child Health and Human Disease National Institutes of Health Bethesda, Maryland, USA Ciliated protozoa (1700x) Confocal Dr. Kirk Czymmek Department of Biological Sciences University of Delaware Newark, Delaware, USA Fungal infection of Arabidopsis (flowering plant) root (25x) Confocal 3D Maximum Intensity Projection Thomas Deerinck National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research University of California, San Diego La Jolla, California, USA Rat cerebellum (200x) 2-photon Excitation Fluorescence Microscopy Dr. Nils O. E. Krutzfeldt School of Medical Sciences University of Auckland Auckland, New Zealand Whole finch testicle (4x) Brightfield David Millard Austin, Texas, USA Fire agate (10x) Diffused Incident Illumination Larry Millet Dept. of Cell and Developmental Biology, and Micro & Nanotechnology University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urbana, Illinois, USA Aspergillus mold in a microfluidic device (20x) Differential Interference Contrast Dr. Juan Alberto Morales Departamento de Patologia, Escuela Medicina Veterinaria Universidad Nacional Autonoma Heredia, Costa Rica Aspergillus sp. (250x) Nomarski Differential Interference Contrast Dr. Heiti Paves Tallinn University of Technology Tallinn, Estonia Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) anther (20x) Confocal (Different version than the winning image) Juergen Pfleiderer Heilbronn, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany Radula of Buccinum undatum (sea snail) (100x) Dr. Jugal Gupta University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, Wisconsin, USA Biosensing liquid crystals (20x) Polarized Light Viktor Sykora Institute of Pathophysiology, First Medical Faculty Charles University Prague, Czech Republic Hoya carnosa (wax plant) flower (10x) Darkfield Bruno Vellutini Centro de Biologia Marinha Universidade de Sao Paulo Sao Paulo, Brazil Pluteus larva of a sea biscuit (echinoderm) (200x) Differential Interference Contrast Dr. Uwe Weierstall Department of Physics and Astronomy Arizona State University Tempe, Arizona, USA Water droplets ejected from a vibrating glass nozzle (200x) Stroboscopic LED Illumination Dr. Ting Xie Stowers Institute Kansas City, Missouri, USA A fruit fly ovariole containing different stages of developing egg chambers (400x) Confocal Dr. Robert Zucker USEPA Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA Mosquito larvae (100x) Confocal
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.
ABOUT NIKON INSTRUMENTS INC.
Nikon Instruments Inc is a world leader in the development and manufacture of optical and digital imaging technology for biomedical and industrial applications. Now in its 91st year, Nikon provides complete optical systems that offer optimal versatility, performance and productivity. Cutting-edge instruments include microscopes, precision measuring equipment, digital imaging products and software. Nikon Instruments is the microscopy and digital imaging arm of Nikon Inc., the world leader in digital imaging, precision optics and photo imaging technology. For more information, visit www.nikoninstruments.com. Product-related inquiries may be directed to Nikon Instruments at 800-52-NIKON.