Nikon Small World

Nagy is a psychiatrist and amateur microscopist who took this image specifically for entry into the contest. It shows how a disease process can alter structure of ivory, creating strange and beautiful evocative shapes, which lead to people imagining that they see something else in the image.

The image was taken using standard polarizing light techniques, with crossed polarizing filters, a first-order red plate, and an additional compensating plate made of ordinary cellophane. Image-stitching technology though Adobe Photoshop that created this composite of sixteen separate exposures or images, seamlessly merging them into one image which shows much more of the ivory's structure.

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Learn about optical microscopy, digital imaging, and photomicrography.

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From the nanoworld to the universe — the worlds we measure using our infinite yardstick.

Enjoy learning about Nikon’s long history through a series of interactive episodes.