The photo contest organized by Nikon reached its 45th edition in 2019; an annual contest that shows the beauty and complexity of life seen through the light microscope.
What has been the winning image of the year? First place went to microscopy technician Teresa Zgoda and recent college graduate Teresa Kugler for their stunning and meticulously prepared photo of a turtle embryo . Captured with fluorescence and stereomicroscopy, the final colorful photograph is a masterful example of this technique.
While helping with a class at the Marine Biology Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, the two experts combined fluorescence microscopy and stereomicrography to create a vivid portrait of a developing turtle embryo. Because the embryo was more than 2.5 centimeters long, they were unable to capture it in as much detail in a single image. Instead, they pieced together hundreds of images focused on different locations and layers of the little turtle to create a composite of the entire embryo . The result is fabulous.
“We are inspired by the beautiful images we see through the microscope,” said Zgoda. “It is deeply gratifying to be able to share that science with other people,” he said.
The 2019 contest attracted more than 2,000 participating photos from nearly 100 countries around the globe.
As we have already discussed, the winning image illustrates a turtle embryo flooded with a rainbow of fluorescent colors. Other winners of this year’s pageant include a cross section of a tulip bud, the eye of a house fly, and a jewel.
The microscopic world -thanks to today’s microscopes- give us access to a fantastic, beautiful and sometimes shocking universe that hides beyond the limits of the human eye’s vision. The best way to appreciate its wonders is through competitions like this one, Nikon Small World , which chooses the best photos taken with a microscope, something it has been doing for decades.
“Our goal has always been to show the world how art and science intersect,” said Eric Flem, communications manager for Nikon Instruments, in a press release. “As new imaging and microscopy techniques are developed over the years, our winners show that these technological advances are increasingly creative.”
