By Claudia Kalb
Photomicrography has advanced dramatically over the last few decades—and its progress has been tracked each year by Nikon's Small World competition. Early on, scientists relied on film to capture their subject matter, which tended to be stationary objects like chemicals or industrial materials. Today, digital technology and newfangled microscopes allow hobbyists and scientists to document the most incredible, and miniscule, biological processes. It is the perfect blend of science and art. Photographs of everyday objects, crystals and larvae, mouse embryos and knitting machine needles, are all illuminated under the microscope. Some of these images look like 20th-century art—Jackson Pollock or Alexander Calder. Others seem like moonscapes and planets. There are photos that reveal how cells divide and images that capture the intricate details of the tiniest body parts, like the sperm of a fruit fly. Every day, scientists pore over specimens in their labs, but we rarely get to see what they're looking at. "We have the pleasure of sharing this with the world," says Nikon's Lee Shuett. The image at right depicts a melted mixture of chemicals, but its colors, patterns, and shapes look like a medley of paint, pastel, and collage.
