Nikon Small World 2024: It’s a Small World After All

Usually our photo series focuses (no pun intended) on big picture stuff (ok pun intended). Recently with the advent of drones we’ve been able to see the world in entirely new ways. We’re able to see herds of animals crossing the plains of Africa like mites on a petri dish. We’ve gained a perspective on the macro that we’ve until now only had on the micro.

Nikon has been celebrating this micro perspective since 1974 when it launched the Small World Photomicrography Competition celebrating the study of the microscopic. This year marks the competition’s 50th anniversary, a true celebration of art and science, and the individuals behind the lens that have shed light on the beauty of the microscopic world. This year, the photo competition received about 2,100 photo entries from 80 countries. Here’s a small collection of our favourites.