September 17, 2009 – Got an eye for nanoscale art? The 2009 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition welcomes the public to pick its favorite image, to be held alongside other finalists chosen from >2000 entries along with judges’ selections of the year’s "most visually stunning and technically proficient" micrographic images. Voting at www.nikonsmallworld.com is open until October 2. There’s also an "Identify the Image" game to correctly ID the five finalist micrographs.

The annual Nikon Instruments-sponsored, now in its 35th year, is the preeminent showcase for beauty and complexity of life as seen through light microscopes, as captured across a wide variety of scientific disciplines. Top selections will be announced on Oct.15 at New York City‚s Astor Center, and exhibited in a full-color calendar and 24-city national museum tour. First among 20 prizes is $3000 toward the purchase of Nikon equipment, and attendance at the NYC awards ceremony.

Not content to rank others’ work? Submit your own image on 35mm transparency or upload digitally via a browser. Any light microscopy technique is acceptable, including phase contrast, polarized light, fluorescence, interference contrast, darkfield, confocal, deconvolution, and mixed techniques. Entries are judged on originality, informational content, technical proficiency, and visual impact.

This year’s judges are:
– Ivan Oransky, managing editor, online, Scientific American;
– Alice Park, department head, science, TIME Magazine;
– David L. Spector, director of research and head of the Gene Regulation program, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory;
– Ron Sturm, senior petrographer, CTLGroup
– Mike Davidson, director of the optical and magneto-optical imaging center, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Florida State U.(consultant)

Atherix ibis (fly) aquatic larva (25X), from Fabrice Parais, DIREN Basse-Normandie (Hérouville-Saint-Clair, France) —  one of 137 entries for the public’s favorite pick. Source: Nikon Small World competition