Nikon Small World Announces the Winners of the 47th Annual Photo Competition, Image of an Oak Leaf Exterior Takes First Place
MELVILLE, N.Y., Sept. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Nikon Instruments Inc. today unveiled the winners of the 47th annual Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. This year's first place prize was awarded to Jason Kirk for his striking image of a southern live oak leaf's trichomes, stomata and vessels. Using various lighting techniques and design tools, Jason's final image is a masterful example of the dynamic relationship between imaging technology and artistic creativity. Using a custom-made microscope system that combines color filtered transmitted light with diffused reflected light, Jason captured around 200 individual images of the leaf and stacked them together to create the stunning image.
Jason used both transmitted and reflected light on opposite sides of the leaf to highlight three vital structures. Prominently featured in white are the trichomes, which are fine outgrowths that protect a plant against extreme weather, microorganisms, and insects. In purple, Jason highlights the stomata, small pores that regulate the flow of gases in a plant. Colored in cyan are the vessels that transport water throughout the leaf. All three are essential to plant life.
"The lighting side of it was complicated," said Jason. "Microscope objectives are small and have a very shallow depth of focus. I couldn't just stick a giant light next to the microscope and have the lighting be directional. It would be like trying to light the head of a pin with a light source that's the size of your head. Nearly impossible." Jason edited the color temperature and hue in post-production to better illustrate the various elements pictured.
When Jason is not directing the OiVM core facility at the Baylor College of Medicine, he can be found spending his free time customizing microscopes and photographing subjects found in his backyard. "I've learned a lot from the scientific community, having spent 20 plus years in this field doing microscopy at a fairly high level. But I've also learned a lot from the people in the hobbyist environment. Small World is a great combination of the two groups, and you don't often get an opportunity to see that."
"Nikon Small World was created to show the world how art and science come together under the microscope. This year's first place winner could not be a better example of that blend," said Eric Flem, Communications Manager, Nikon Instruments, "I continue to be amazed by the level of talent we see every year, and this year's winning gallery is no exception. As imaging technology continues to progress, the 47th annual competition has provided us with some amazing captures of scientific research and creativity from across a multitude of disciplines."
Second place was awarded to Esmeralda Paric for her image of a microfluidic device containing hundreds of thousands of networking neurons. The primary neurons were extracted and cultured, then seeded and transduced with a virus. The particular image shows two populations separated but bridged, with different viral treatments. It was maintained for 30 days, immunostained, and tiled imaged.
Third place was captured by Frank Reiser for his picture of a rear leg, claw, and respiratory trachea of a hog louse (Haematopinus suis).
In addition to the top three winners, Nikon Small World recognized 100 photos out of thousands of entries from scientists and artists across the globe.
The 2021 judging panel included:
- Dr. Nsikan Akpan, Health and Science Editor at New York Public Radio
- Hank Green, Science Fiction Author and Internet Creator
- Robin Kazmier, Science Editor at PBS NOVA
- Dr. Alexa Mattheyses, Associate Professor of Cell, Developmental, and Integrative Biology at the University of Alabama, Birmingham
- Dr. Hesper Rego, Assistant Professor of Microbial Pathogenesis at the Yale School of Medicine
For additional information, please visit www.nikonsmallworld.com, or follow the conversation on Facebook, Twitter @NikonSmallWorld and Instagram @NikonInstruments.
NIKON SMALL WORLD WINNERS
1st Place Jason Kirk Baylor College of Medicine Optical Imaging & Vital Microscopy Core Houston, Texas, USA Trichome (white appendages) and stomata (purple pores) on a southern live oak leaf Image Stacking 60X (Objective Lens Magnification)
2nd Place Esmeralda Paric & Holly Stefen
Dementia Research Centre, Macquarie University Department of Biomedical Sciences Macquarie Park, NSW, Australia A microfluidic device containing 300k networking neurons in 2 isolated populations. Both sides were treated with a unique virus and bridged by axons. Fluorescence 40X (Objective Lens Magnification)
3rd Place Frank Reiser Nassau Community College Department of Biology Garden City, New York, USA Rear leg, claw, and respiratory trachea of a louse (Haematopinus suis) Darkfield, Image Stacking 5X (Objective Lens Magnification)
4th Place Paula Diaz MinusPain, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile Department of Physiology Santiago, Region Metropolitana, Chile Sensory neuron from an embryonic rat Fluorescence 10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
5th Place Oliver Dum Medienbunker Produktion Bendorf, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany Proboscis of a housefly (Musca domestica) Image Stacking 40X (Objective Lens Magnification)
6th Place Dr. Andrea Tedeschi The Ohio State University / Wexner Medical Center Department of Neuroscience Columbus, Ohio, USA 3D vasculature of an adult mouse brain (somatosensory cortex) Confocal 10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
7th Place Dr. Tong Zhang & Dr. Paul Stoodley The Ohio State University Campus Microscopy & Imaging Facility Columbus, Ohio, USA Head of a tick Confocal 10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
8th Place Dr. Amy Engevik Medical University of South Carolina Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology Charleston, South Carolina, USA Cross section of mouse intestine Fluorescence 10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
9th Place Jan van IJken Jan van IJken Photography and Film Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands Water flea (Daphnia), carrying embryos and peritrichs Darkfield, Image Stacking 10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
10th Place Sébastien Malo Saint Lys, Haute-Garonne, France Vein and scales on a butterfly wing (Morpho didius) Image Stacking, Reflected Light 20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
11th Place Jason Kirk & Carlos P. Flores Suarez Baylor College of Medicine Optical Imaging & Vital Microscopy Core Houston, Texas, USA Vasculature of a mouse retina Confocal 20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
12th Place Jakub Sumbal Masaryk University Department of Histology and Embryology Brno, Czech Republic Breast organoid showing contractile myoepithelial cells (blue) crawling on secretory breast cells (red) Confocal 40X (Objective Lens Magnification)
13th Place Dr. Felice Placenti FP Nature and Landscape Photography Siracusa, Sicilia, Italy Cotton fabric with pollen grains Darkfield, Image Stacking 10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
14th Place Dr. Joern N. Hopke Waban, Massachusetts, USA Snowflake Image Stacking 4X (Objective Lens Magnification)
15th Place Bernard Allard Club Français de Microscopie Sucy-en-Bry, France Diatom (Arachnoidiscus) Brightfield, Image Stacking 40X (Objective Lens Magnification)
16th Place Ruohan Zhong Stowers Institute for Medical Research Gibson Lab Kansas City, Missouri, USA An in vivo snapshot of the neurons surrounding the mouth and tentacles of a juvenile starlet sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) Fluorescence 20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
17th Place Martin Kaae Kristiansen My Microscopic World Aalborg, Nordjylland, Denmark Filamentous strands of Nostoc cyanobacteria captured inside a gelatinous matrix Image Stacking, Polarized Light 4X (Objective Lens Magnification)
18th Place Saulius Gugis Naperville, Illinois, USA Table salt crystal Image Stacking, Darkfield, Oblique, Rheinberg, Polarized Light 10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
19th Place Billie Hughes Lotus Gemology Bangkok, Thailand Calcite crystal inclusion suspended in a spinel gemstone Darkfield, Image Stacking 40X (Objective Lens Magnification)
20th Place Alison Pollack San Anselmo, California, USA Slime mold (Arcyria pomiformis) Image Stacking, Reflected Light 10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Honorable Mentions
Álmos Becz Eötvös Loránd University Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology Szigetszentmiklós, Hungary Water flea swimming near a reed stalk Darkfield 4X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Levon Biss Levon Biss Photography Ltd. Ramsbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom 40 million year old gnat in Baltic amber Image Stacking 10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Dylan T. Burnette Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Department of Cell and Developmental Biology Nashville, Tennessee, USA Two mouse fibroblast cells Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM) 60X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Caleb Dawson The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Department of Immunology Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Epithelial cells covering the intestine villi Confocal, Fluorescence 63X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Sergii Dymchenko Dim Photography Bellevue, Washington, USA Mold on top of a cherry stem Image Stacking, Reflected Light 2X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Saket Ghosh & Dr. Hokitika Mandal Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali Department of Biological Sciences Mohali, Punjab, India Blood cells associated with the heart of a fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) Confocal 40X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Thibault Gisclard Paris, France Radiolaria, a protozoan (Thyrsocyrthis triacantha) Brightfield (with inverted values) 25X (Objective Lens Magnification)
James Alexander Innes, Sebastian Brandner & Silvia Marino University College London Department of Neurodegeneration, Institute of Neurology London, United Kingdom Human brain tumor cells labeled with lentivirus Confocal 10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Erick Francisco Mesén Canoas, Alajuela, Costa Rica Midge (Chironomidae diptera) Image Stacking 9X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Waldo Nell Delta, British Columbia, Canada Hatched brine shrimp eggs Darkfield, Fluorescence, Image Stacking 10X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Andrew Mark Posselt University of California, San Francisco Department of Surgery Mill Valley, California, USA Hind leg of a male frog-legged beetle (Sagra buqueti) Image Stacking 4X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Marco Retana Palmares, Alajuela, Costa Rica Robber fly (Asilidae) Image Stacking 3.5X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Dr. Fred Terveer Rotterdam, Netherlands Red forest ant (Formica rufa) Image Stacking 5X (Objective Lens Magnification)
Alexandra Tsitrina & Dr. Peter Gabrelian Institute of Developmental Biology Russian Academy of Science Core Facility Moscow, Russian Federation A freshwater crustacean (Bosmina sp.) Confocal 20X (Objective Lens Magnification)
About Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition The Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition is open to anyone with an interest in photography or video. Participants may upload digital images and videos directly at www.nikonsmallworld.com. For additional information, contact Nikon Small World, Nikon Instruments Inc., 1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, NY 11747, USA, or phone (631) 547-8569. Entry forms for Nikon's 2022 Small World and Small World in Motion Competitions are available at https://enter.nikonsmallworld.com/
About Nikon Instruments Inc. Nikon Instruments Inc. is the US microscopy arm of Nikon Healthcare, a world leader in the development and manufacture of optical and digital imaging technology for biomedical applications. For more information, visit https://www.microscope.healthcare.nikon.com/ or contact us at 1-800-52-NIKON.
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