From a remarkable demonstration of flower self-pollination to algae swimming in a water droplet in a Japanese 50 Yen coin, the winners of this year’s Nikon Small World in Motion competition capture some of the natural world’s most beautiful, otherworldly, and otherwise invisible phenomena.
The top prize was awarded to Michigan-based photographer Jay McClellan, who captured a timelapse of a thymeleaf speedwell flower, incorporating image stacking techniques to depict the blossom at 5x magnification. McClellan’s video of crystallizing cobalt, copper, and sodium chlorides was awarded an honorable mention, too.
Biology takes center stage in the Small World competition, where images are captured through a variety of means to zoom in on things we may not be able to see with the naked eye. Researchers and enthusiasts from all over the world submitted dazzling views of slime mold, mycelium, cellular reproduction, sensory neurons, and more.
São Paolo-based scientist Dr. Alvaro Migotto documented a microscopic marine mollusk larva in the process of metamorphosis, for example. Penny Fenton recorded a tardigrade crawling around on an algae colony. And Benedikt Pleyer, based in Germany, captured dozens of cyanobacteria filaments using polarized light.
Overall, judges selected five top winners, plus 19 honorable mentions. See all videos in the winners’ gallery on the contest’s website. And keep an eye out for winners of the Nikon Small World photo competition, which will be announced on October 15.
