Ordinary Is Extraordinary in 2011 Nikon Small World Photo Contest
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}<b>Ant head</b>: the frontal view of an ant head magnified 10X. (Dr. Jan Michels/Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel)
<b>Blade of grass</b>: magnified 200X, the colors and light are produced through autofluorescence, the natural emitting of light by biological entities. (Dr. Donna Stolz/University of Pittsburg)
<b>Snowflake</b>: magnified 4X, with reflected and transmitted light. (Yanping Wang/Beijing Planetarium)
<b>Various grains of sand</b>: magnified 4X. (Yanping Wang/Beijing Planetarium)
<b>Computer hard drive</b>: the read/write head slider of a 20GB hard disk is magnified using an episcopic oblique brightfield. (Dr. Gregor Overney/Agilent Technologies)
<b>Down feather: </b>Soft and textured, a wisp of down capture up close. (Harry Leung/Immune Disease Institute, Harvard Medical School)
<b>Aspen leaf:</b> the intricate system of veins is on full display in this quaking aspen leaf magnified 4X using a safranin-stain. (Benjamin Blonder, David Elliott/University of Arizona)
<b>Needle eye threaded with yarn</b> (Marc van Hove/Centexbel)
For more stunning photos of life seen through the microscope, and the chance to vote on your favorite, check out <a href="http://www.nikonsmallworld.com/vote">Nikon Small World</a>! (Nikon Small World)