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1 of 15Honorable Mention: Soldier FlyLaurie Knight—Olympus Bioscapes -
2 of 15Honorable Mention: Mouse retina.Michael Bridge -
3 of 15Honorable Mention: Mahogany woodStefan Eberhard—Olympus Bioscapes -
4 of 15Honorable Mention: Pollen grains in the flower shaft of a hazel plant.Michael Gibson—Olympus Bioscapes -
5 of 15Honorable 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 -
6 of 1510th place: Scales on a butterfly wingCharles Krebs -
7 of 159th place: The seed of a Delphinium plantDr. Sahar Khodaverdi / Olympus Bioscapes -
8 of 158th place: Henbit, an annual plant that is sometimes regarded as a weed.Mr. Edwin Lee—Olympus Bioscapes -
9 of 157th 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 -
10 of 156th place: Live mushroom coralJames Nicholson—Olympus Bioscapes -
11 of 155th place: A one-celled green alga photographed in a lake sample.Rogelio Moreno Gill—Olympus Bioscapes -
12 of 154th place: Claw of a crustaceanDr. Christian Sardet and Mr. Sharif Mirshak—Olympus Bioscapes -
13 of 153rd place: A common east-coast U.S. fernDr.Igor Siwanowicz—Olympus Bioscapes -
14 of 152nd place: Red algaeDr. Arlene Wechezak—Olympus Bioscapes -
15 of 151st place: A freshwater microorganism known as a rotiferRalph Grimm—Olympus Bioscapes
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, 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.
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