This Year’s Small World Photo Contest Unveils the Astounding Details Only Visible Under the Light Microscope

Long-bodied cellar/daddy long-legs spider (Pholcus phalangioides), Dr. Andrew Posselt. 4th place. All images courtesy of Nikon Small World, shared with permission

For 48 years the Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition has garnered some of the most awe-inspiring and illuminated images of all that’s visible once placed under a light microscope. The 2022 contest continues the tradition with a captivating collection that exposes the minuscule details of life on Earth. Winning images zero in on the prickly hairs covering a daddy long-legs, the trippy patterns of a marine snail’s tongue, and the tessellation-like heads of a slime mold. This year’s top photos were selected from more than 1,300 entries from 72 countries, and you can see some of our favorites below. Peruse the entire collection on the competition’s site.

 

Radula (rasping tongue) of a marine snail (Turbinidae family), Dr. Igor Siwanowicz. Honorable mention.

Unburned particles of carbon released when the hydrocarbon chain of candle wax breaks down, Ole Bielfeldt. 6th place.

Cross sections of normal human colon epithelial crypts, Dr. Ziad El-Zaatari. 15th place.

Embryonic hand of a Madagascar giant day gecko (Phelsuma grandis), Grigorii Timin & Dr. Michel Milinkovitch. First place

A fly under the chin of a tiger beetle, Murat Öztürk. 10th place.

Slime mold (Lamproderma), Alison Pollack. 5th place.

Butterfly egg, Ye Fei Zhang. Honorable mention.

Ammophila arenaria (grass stem), Anatoly Mikhaltsov. Image of distinction.

Paper wasp stinger, Pablo Piedra. Image of distinction.

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Elaborately Constructed Shops and Homes Translate Tokyo’s Distinct Architecture into Miniature Models

All images © Christopher Robin Nordstrom, shared with permission

From his studio at Skeppsholmen, the small southern island in Stockholm, Christopher Robin Nordstrom constructs precise miniatures of Tokyo’s architecture. Flower shops, hair salons, and neighborhood police stations known as kōban are recreated at 1:20 scale from materials like MDF board, styrene plastic, wood, and brass. The tiny models are both quaint and true to city living: little air conditioners nestle into windows and autumn leaves float across the sidewalk, while trails of rust run down walls and street dirt splatters on doorways and facades.

Nordstrom shares that his dad built model planes and trains throughout his childhood, and after a trip to Tokyo in 2018, the artist decided to try a tiny construction project himself. “I (was) struck by all the small weather houses with amazing patina. Back in Stockholm, I was really tired of just ending up in front of Netflix each night,” he says. “I really wanted a nice kitchen table hobby.”

That pastime has since grown into a vast collection of architectural works in an array of styles and forms, which you can find more of, in addition to glimpses behind the scenes, on Instagram. (via Present & Correct)

 

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Fly with More Than 450 Bird Species on Their Annual Migrations with Audubon’s New Interactive Maps

All images courtesy of Bird Migration Explorer

What route does the whooping crane follow as it travels south each year? What about the long-winged turkey vulture? A new interactive guide from Audubon tracks the journeys of more than 450 species as they travel around the hemisphere. Complete with the conservation organization’s signature illustrations, the Bird Migration Explorer features digital maps that offer detailed insight into such grand-scale avian movement and are searchable by different taxonomies. Follow a tundra swan’s annual flight path from the arctic, see where the organization spots tagged merlins, and explore the difficulties a horned lark faces as it encounters human activity and climate crisis-related changes on its treks. (via Alastair Humphreys)

 

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Shop Sebastian Foster’s Limited-Edition Disrupted Realism Print Set Featuring Works Reshaping Realism

Gage Opdenbrouw. All images courtesy of Sebastian Foster, shared with permission

Austin-based gallery Sebastian Foster is collaborating with author John Seed and a group of well-established artists on a print set that coincides with his new book, Disrupted Realism.

Disrupted Realism is the first book to survey the works of contemporary painters who are challenging and reshaping the tradition of Realism. Helping art lovers, collectors, and artists approach and understand this compelling new phenomenon, the volume includes the works of 38 artists whose paintings respond to the subjectivity and disruptions of modern experience.

Seed, a widely published author and blogger, believes that we are “the most distracted society in the history of the world” and has selected artists he sees as visionaries in this developing movement. The artists’ impulses toward disruption are idiosyncratic, but all include perception and emotion in their processes. Sebastian Foster collaborated with Seed on a print set of nine works from artists featured in the book, each available in small, exclusive numbered editions of 25.

Now online-only, Sebastian Foster focuses on original works and prints, publishing upwards of 1,000 editions since it opened in the 2000s. Whether you’re looking for the next piece to add to your collection or for meaningful holiday gifts, head to the gallery’s site to shop the Disrupted Realism Print Set today.

 

Daniel Bilodeau

Dorian Vallejo

J Louis

Joshua Meyer

Kirstine Reiner Hansen

Mia Bergeron

Nick Runge

Zack Zdrale

Disrupted Realism, cover

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A Surfer Trapped Under One of the World’s Heaviest Waves Wins the Ocean Photographer of the Year

Image © Ben Thouard. All images courtesy of Oceanographic, shared with permission

The 2022 Ocean Photographer of the Year contest highlights the vast array of colors and textures within marine environments. More than 5,000 entrants from around the world submitted to this year’s competition, with winning images framing the iridescent, billowing membranes of creatures spotted during blackwater dives, the speckled tentacles of baby squid, and a school of baitfish swirling into a choreographed pattern. The top prize was awarded to photographer Ben Thouard for his disorienting image of a surfer trapped under one of Tahiti’s infamous Teahupo’o waves, which are among the heaviest swells in existence.

Selected photos are on view through November 7 next to Tower Bridge in London, and you can see the entire 2022 collection on the contest’s site. (via Peta Pixel)

 

Image © Katherine Lu

Image © Brook Peterson

Image © Matty Smith

Image © Brooke Pyke

Image © Ishino Shota

Image © Gergo Rugli

Image © Martin Broen

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One of the Largest Louisiana Glass Recyclers Was Founded by College Students Who Are Rebuilding a Vanishing Coastline

The Louisiana coastline has undergone significant erosion in the last century, and one method of restoration involves rebuilding landforms and protecting areas with sand. Unfortunately, the world is simultaneously experiencing a massive shortage of the material—it’s the most-extracted and second most-used resource in the world—so it’s essential to find new, innovative methods of procuring the substance.

Glass Half Full, one of the largest recyclers of the material in Louisiana, is working toward this goal by turning bottles and other waste back into their original, granular form. On a visit from Business Insider, Franziska Trautmann and Max Steitz, who co-founded the organization while in college, tour the facility that already processes an astounding 16 metric tons of glass per week. The substance is crushed and sorted into gravel-sized chunks, a fine powdery material, and a coarse grind, the latter of which is shipped to wetlands and habitats for use in restoration efforts. Thanks to a National Science Foundation, Glass Half Full even collaborated with Tulane University scientists to ensure that the reused material doesn’t leach harmful chemicals into the water and can sustain plant life.

Since launching in 2020, the organization has recycled more than two million pounds of waste, and you can find more about its work on its site. (via The Kids Should See This)

 

Restoration efforts with bags of recycled sand

Gravel-like material

Franziska Trautmann at the Glass Half Full facility

Super fine sand

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MPB Simplifies Buying, Selling, and Trading Used Photo and Video Gear

Image courtesy of MPB, shared with permission

Photography changes people. It expresses emotion in a way words cannot.

That’s why MPB strives to make photography more affordable and accessible for all. Founded by Matt Barker in 2011, MPB is the largest global platform to buy, sell, and trade used photo and video gear. Headquartered in Brighton, Brooklyn, and Berlin, MPB serves visual storytellers around the world.

The platform makes it easy to compare, filter, and shop thousands of items. MPB recirculates over 350,000 items annually and adds over 1,000 products to the website each week. This includes cameras, lenses, and accessories from leading brands such as Canon, Nikon, and Sony. Used items from MPB cost an average of 33 percent less than new products, and all gear comes with a free six-month warranty.

MPB is not a peer-to-peer marketplace and buys used gear directly from visual storytellers before reselling products, all carefully inspected and approved by their experts.

Need to get rid of gear? Start by filling out a free instant quote, select the model and condition of your gear, and they’ll put a price tag on it. MPB never adds hidden fees, so the number listed in your quote is always the amount you make.

Want to upgrade instead? Switch up your setup by trading in. Just add items to your cart at the start of the process, and you’re good to go.

While visual storytelling is at the heart of MPB, the platform is also committed to the bigger picture. Its business model is 100 percent circular, uses only plastic-free packaging and low-carbon data centers, and partners with couriers that invest in electric vehicles and sustainable fuels.

You can find answers and resolve issues through MPB’s Help Center FAQs and forums, or by chatting with an MPB expert directly via phone or email.

If you’re looking to save or make money on used camera gear, MPB is a premium place to start. Buy, sell, or trade at mpb.com. You can follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

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