--- description: A global photography contest produces stunning images from an invisible world title: Tiny Beauties: Visions From Under the Microscope image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt36e571c5287df751/69876d06524fc033c2deb34a/2012-hm-knight.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [animals](/tag/animals/) ## animals Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Tiny Beauties: Visions From Under the Microscope by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 5, 2014 11:01 PM CUT  Honorable Mention: Soldier Fly Honorable Mention: Soldier FlyLaurie Knight—Olympus Bioscapes by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 5, 2014 11:01 PM CUT The folks at Olympus know a thing or two about what makes a pretty picture. One thing they appreciate is that the most striking images are often the ones that are too small to see. That’s why they sponsor the [Olympus BioScapes Digital Imaging competition](http://olympusbioscapes.com "undefined"), soliciting photographs captured under the microscope by competitors from around the world. Of the thousands of images they received in 2012, they chose 10 winners. The first place finisher receives either an Olympus microscope or camera equipment, both valued at $5,000\. The rest of us get some of the most improbably beautiful sights we’d otherwise never hope to see.  Honorable Mention: Soldier Fly Laurie Knight—Olympus Bioscapes  Honorable Mention: Mouse retina. Michael Bridge  Honorable Mention: Mahogany wood Stefan Eberhard—Olympus Bioscapes  Honorable Mention: Pollen grains in the flower shaft of a hazel plant. Michael Gibson—Olympus Bioscapes  Honorable Mention: The bristle-like appendage of an amphipod—or type of marine crustacean. The bristles serve as a sort of fishing net for plankton. Dr. Igor Siwanowicz—Olympus Bioscapes  10th place: Scales on a butterfly wing Charles Krebs  9th place: The seed of a Delphinium plant Dr. Sahar Khodaverdi / Olympus Bioscapes  8th place: Henbit, an annual plant that is sometimes regarded as a weed. Mr. Edwin Lee—Olympus Bioscapes  7th place: A portion of the brain of a fruit fly in the larva stage, with visual lobes included. Dr. Christian Klämbt and Dr. Imke Schmidt—Olympus Bioscapes  6th place: Live mushroom coral James Nicholson—Olympus Bioscapes  5th place: A one-celled green alga photographed in a lake sample. Rogelio Moreno Gill—Olympus Bioscapes  4th place: Claw of a crustacean Dr. Christian Sardet and Mr. Sharif Mirshak—Olympus Bioscapes  3rd place: A common east-coast U.S. fern Dr.Igor Siwanowicz—Olympus Bioscapes  2nd place: Red algae Dr. Arlene Wechezak—Olympus Bioscapes  1st place: A freshwater microorganism known as a rotifer Ralph Grimm—Olympus Bioscapes ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3620659/olympus-bioscapes-2012/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3620659/olympus-bioscapes-2012/"},"headline":"Tiny Beauties: Visions From Under the Microscope","datePublished":"2014-12-05T23:01:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:47.962Z","description":"A global photography contest produces stunning images from an invisible world","url":"https://time.com/3620659/olympus-bioscapes-2012/","keywords":["animals","photography","Insects"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt36e571c5287df751/69876d06524fc033c2deb34a/2012-hm-knight.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt36e571c5287df751/69876d06524fc033c2deb34a/2012-hm-knight.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Honorable Mention: Soldier Fly","caption":"Honorable Mention: Soldier Fly","creditText":"Laurie Knight—Olympus Bioscapes","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3620659/olympus-bioscapes-2012/","name":"Tiny Beauties: Visions From Under the Microscope"}}]}] ```