Small World: Stunning photos of everyday objects as seen under a microscope
Blending microscopes with photography, this spectacular microphotography shows many things as you've never seen them before - in extreme close up.
Included in the spectacular series is a beautiful snowflake, a bee abdomen covered in pollen, and even an air bubble giving off a stunning rainbow after it was spotted trapped inside some medicinal (Carbopol) gel.
Mesmerising colourful swirls made up of blues, reds, pinks and yellows look like abstract art - but in fact it's some bubbly film produced by some soap.
Soap photographed with 150X magnification taken in Dusseldorf, Germany
Crystallised soy sauce (16X magnification) taken at Beijing Language and Culture University in Beijing, China
More amazing images show the jaws of a spider, the stunning sight of a butterfly egg trapped in a flower, and a beautiful Bird of Paradise seed.
The pictures were shot by a variety of amateur photographers, professionals and scientists either using microscopes with cameras for work or play.
They form just some of the 137 handpicked as finalists for competition Nikon Small World 2010, which aims at 'recognising proficiency and photographic excellence of photography taken under the microscope'.
Butterfly egg on lower bud (6X magnification) taken in Austin, Texas
Fern Spore (20X magnification) taken at The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
A spokesperson for Nikon Small World, said: 'The submissions are evaluated on originality, informational content, technical proficiency and visual impact.
'In 2010 we received a record number of entries with over 2,200. Over the last several years, the competition has grown over 150%, and international submissions have more than doubled.
'To select the winners, competition judges analyse micrographs from all over the world, covering subjects ranging from chemical compounds to up-close-and-personal biological specimens.' Winners, chosen by four judges, will be revealed next month.
In the meantime Nikon have made all 137 available for the public to view at www.nikonsmallworld.com where visitors can choose their favourites in the public vote.
The annual competition began in 1976 making this year its 36th Anniversary.
Mouse embryo stem cells (63X magnification) taken in Barcelona, Spain
Snowcrystal (snowflake) (40X magnification) taken in Sonkajarvi, Finland
Wasp nest (10X magnification) taken in La Spezia, Italy
Air bubble in medical gel (300X magnification) taken at University of Wroclaw, Faculty of Biotechnology in Wroclaw, Poland
Red begonia (stamens of a male flower) (1X magnification) taken at RIKEN Plant Science Center in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Portion of spider mandible (10X magnification) taken in Knokke, Belgium
Bearded weevil (10X magnification) taken in MedellÌn, Colombia
Most watched News videos
- Shocking moment school volunteer upskirts a woman at Target
- Sweet moment Wills handed get well soon cards for Kate and Charles
- 'Inhumane' woman wheels CORPSE into bank to get loan 'signed off'
- Shocking scenes in Dubai as British resident shows torrential rain
- Appalling moment student slaps woman teacher twice across the face
- Prince William resumes official duties after Kate's cancer diagnosis
- Chaos in Dubai morning after over year and half's worth of rain fell
- 'Incredibly difficult' for Sturgeon after husband formally charged
- Rishi on moral mission to combat 'unsustainable' sick note culture
- Mel Stride: Sick note culture 'not good for economy'
- Jewish campaigner gets told to leave Pro-Palestinian march in London
- Shocking video shows bully beating disabled girl in wheelchair
