1st Place – Mr. Rogelio Moreno Panama, Panama. Rotifer showing the mouth interior and heart shaped corona. Differential Interference Contrast 40X
Nikon Small World has announced winners of this year’s contest of microscopy images. The top prize goes to Rogelio Moreno of Panama for capturing the open mouth interior and corona of a rotifer. It is an amazing image, but the rest of the winners are quite spectacular as well. We’d like to congratulate everyone who has participated and has shown us a view of our world like never before.
From the announcement:
18th Place – Mr. Jens H. Petersen. MycoKey. Ebeltoft, Denmark. Anagallis arvensis (scarlet pimpernel) Macroscopy 80X
Judges awarded Moreno’s shot of a rotifer caught open-mouthed and facing the camera – for its exemplary technique. Capturing the perfect moment when the rotifer opened its mouth for the camera required extreme patience from Moreno, who watched for hours waiting for his opportunity. With the rotifer in constant motion, he utilized the flash to freeze the movement as soon as the mouth opened – still leaving him with only a one- or two-second window to take the photo, and possibly only one shot to get it right. He also used differential interference contrast (DIC) to enhance the coloration in unstained, transparent samples, and to provide a more detailed image of the rotifer.
“When you see that movement, you fall in love. I thought – wow, that is amazing. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. This is something very, very beautiful,” said Moreno of his winning image. “I hope now it can inspire others as much as it has inspired me – to learn about science, to look closely and notice something truly amazing.”
Link: Nikon Small World 2014 Top 20 Winners…
Announcement: “JAW-DROPPING” IMAGE OF OPEN-MOUTHED ROTIFER WINS 40TH ANNIVERSARY NIKON SMALL WORLD COMPETITION…