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The 52 nd annual Nikon Small World competition honours the world’s most remarkable images captured through a microscope. The first-place prize was awarded to Ole Bielfeldt, a student and experimental photographer, for his image of ink droplets suspended inside an inkjet printer as it prints Winning image – a microscopic view of an inkjet printer depositing ink on to paper. Photograph: Ole Bielfeldt/Nikon Small World Wed 21 Oct 2026 16.00 CEST 2nd - John Oliver Dum – Bendorf, Germany Jumping spider ( Salticus scenicus ) with pollen Photograph: John Oliver Dum/Nikon Small World 3rd - Kaelin Wulf & Rachel Flannery – Seattle, US Neurons in an expanded mouse brain Photograph: Kaelin Wulf & Rachel Flannery/Nikon Small World 4th - Justin Theodore Benttinen – Berkeley, California, US Tip of a ballpoint pen Photograph: Justin Theodore Benttinen/Nikon Small World 5th - Mike Crutchley – Pembrokeshire, UK Inner structure of a closed daisy Photograph: Mike Crutchley/Nikon Small World 6th - Eric Epstein – New York, US Hemitrichia slime mould spore structures (fruiting bodies) Photograph: Eric Epstein/Nikon Small World 7th - Dr Bruno Cisterna & Dr Eric Vitriol – Georgia, US Human neurons reprogrammed from skin cells growing in a microfluidic chamber Photograph: Dr Bruno Cisterna & Dr Eric Vitriol/Nikon Small World 8th - Dr Marcel Clemens – Verona, Italy Pencil lead during exposure to a high-voltage electrical discharge Photograph: Dr Marcel Clemens/Nikon Small World 9th - Dr Francisco Lázaro-Diéguez – New York, US Dedifferentiated liver endothelial cell Photograph: Dr Francisco Lázaro-Diéguez/Nikon Small World 10th - Michael Parra Puentes – Bogotá, Colombia A parasitoid wasp (Conura sp.) emerging from a butterfly chrysalis (Opsiphanes sp.) Photograph: Michael Parra Puentes/Nikon Small World 11th - Svenja Carolin Kling, California, US A 20-day-old sea urchin larva with blue fluorescent nuclei Photograph: Svenja Carolin Kling/Nikon Small World 12th - Dr Gonzalo Quiroga Artigas – Montpellier, France A tardigrade moulting and laying an egg in the old skin Photograph: Dr Gonzalo Quiroga Artigas/Nikon Small World 13th - Sebastian Sparenga – Chicago, US Recrystallised estrogen Photograph: Sebastian Sparenga/Nikon Small World 14th - Mike Crutchley – Pembrokeshire, UK Pilobolus fungi on sheep dung Photograph: Mike Crutchley/Nikon Small World 15th - Dr Julien Resseguier – Oslo, Norway Mouse trachea showing tiny hair-like cells that move mucus and nearby nerves (blue) associated with the muscles (yellow) Photograph: Dr Julien Resseguier/Nikon Small World 16th - Pierre Nouaux, Laurent Kodjabachian and Camille Boutin – Toulouse, France A172 Embryonic Xenopus skin cells, showing cilia (green), centrioles (red), and cell membranes (white) Photograph: Pierre Nouaux & Laurent Kodjabachian, Camille Boutin/Nikon Small World 17th - Dr Gauri Kulkarni – North Carolina, US Lab-grown human intestinal tissue showing glowing, brick-like epithelial cell connections that form the intestine’s protective barrier Photograph: Dr Gauri Kulkarni/Nikon Small World 18th - Bilal Akhtar – Mainz, Germany 14-day-old mouse hippocampal neurons showing nuclei (green) and synaptic proteins (red) Photograph: Bilal Akhtar/Nikon Small World 19th - Satu Paavonsalo and Dr Sinem Karaman – Helsinki, Finland Cross-section of a mouse eye showing retinal blood vessels and the optic nerve Photograph: Satu Paavonsalo & Dr Sinem Karaman/Nikon Small World 20th - Justin Theodore Benttinen – California, US Large sea snail (abalone) shell Photograph: Justin Theodore Benttinen/Nikon Small World 1st - Ole Bielfeldt – Cologne, Germany | Microscopic view of an inkjet printer depositing ink on to paper Bielfeldt is a student and experimental photographer based in Cologne.
His image of ink droplets suspended inside an inkjet printer as it prints was captured using a self-constructed imaging rig, using a microscope objective. Bielfeldt’s image sheds light on the previously unseen intricacies of a common process: printing words on to paper Photograph: Ole Bielfeldt/Nikon Small World Honourable mention – Dr Mark Slabodnick – Galesburg, US A pair of elongated Stentor coeruleus cells during mating. The cells are fused at the anterior edge of their mouth to allow for the transfer of DNA Photograph: Dr Mark Slabodnick/Nikon Small World
Source: The Guardian
