[HN Gopher] Nikon's 2021 Photomicrography Competition Winners
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Nikon's 2021 Photomicrography Competition Winners
        
       Author : WaitWaitWha
       Score  : 112 points
       Date   : 2021-09-15 17:22 UTC (5 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.nikonsmallworld.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.nikonsmallworld.com)
        
       | coverband wrote:
       | All of them are wonderful shots, but I especially liked the 16th
       | place image:
       | https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2021-photomicrogra...
        
       | mwambua wrote:
       | If you're into this sort of stuff, there's a relatively new
       | Youtube Channel where the creator puts an interesting subject
       | under an electron microscope and talks about it. I find his
       | videography & micrography aesthetically pleasing, and even
       | relaxing.
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/c/Micrographia
        
         | qwertox wrote:
         | A very similar channel but focused on biology is "Journey to
         | the Microcosmos". It's just as interesting and relaxing.
         | 
         | https://www.youtube.com/c/microcosmos/videos
        
           | spiraling_shape wrote:
           | Not sure how much of a coincidence this is, but that series
           | was co-created by Hank Green, who also happens to be one the
           | judges from this competition.
        
           | scns wrote:
           | Thank you. Always grateful for stuff thats expands my
           | horizon.
        
       | qwertox wrote:
       | The second place photo [1] is absolutely amazing. It looks like
       | galaxies in the universe, and the clear separation between the
       | two populations bridged by axons show the incredible level of
       | control humanity has gained over our world. We're not there yet,
       | but this photo shows us how extremely well we're doing.
       | 
       | [2]
       | https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2021-photomicrogra...
        
         | bryan0 wrote:
         | > A microfluidic device containing 300k networking neurons in 2
         | isolated populations. Both sides were treated with a unique
         | virus and bridged by axons.
         | 
         | Any idea why they created such a device?
        
           | twobitshifter wrote:
           | Not sure if this is the exact study but it's probably what is
           | going on.
           | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2426917/
        
           | dandelany wrote:
           | Probably studying axonal transport, the ability of some
           | neuroinvasive viruses to spread from one neuron to the next
           | via the axon & its connection to other cells.
        
       | m_kos wrote:
       | I just wanted to share that you can take a shot at
       | photomicrography even on a very tight budget. Here are three
       | pictures I took with my Pixel 2 and a $20 microscope from Amazon.
       | 
       | https://imgbox.com/g/WQt0DyEtmV (fly's wings, salt cubes, a
       | mashed raspberry)
       | 
       | I am no photographer, so I am sure people who know more about it
       | than me can take much better pictures. (And I'd love to see
       | them!)
        
         | lmilcin wrote:
         | You can get very good results without any specialized
         | equipment.
         | 
         | There are tricks by using _reversed_ lenses. https://digital-
         | photography-school.com/reverse-lens-macro-ph...
        
       | zokier wrote:
       | Kinda surprised to see a fairly boring snowflake picture at 14th
       | place. Sure, it looks technically well executed and the black
       | background makes for a clean picture, but still it looks pretty
       | unremarkable to me.
        
         | omoikane wrote:
         | Perhaps you were looking for something like this?
         | 
         | https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/10/science/snowflakes-photos...
         | 
         | https://archive.is/OeBIb
        
         | mkr-hn wrote:
         | You try focus stacking at 4:1. I could barely get things in
         | focus at 1:1. People who judge photography contests look for
         | different things from most people.
         | 
         | Here's a good video on what judges look for:
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcxcGBbLIwk
        
           | WaitWaitWha wrote:
           | don't forget how fast this also has to be done, since the
           | crystals will change if the temperature, humidity, or
           | pressure changes.
        
       | edge17 wrote:
       | Are these photos artificially colored or are these natural
       | colors? (meaning, I guess everything is larger than the
       | resolution of visible light)
       | 
       | I've always wondered how these photos get taken. Do people also
       | do videos?
        
         | ghaff wrote:
         | I'm guessing some combination of staining to accentuate
         | detail/structure in the thing being photographed, manipulation
         | of contrast/saturation/etc., and maybe some outright false
         | color.
        
       | carl_dr wrote:
       | It's pretty obvious now I know what it means : Photomicrography,
       | photography of objects under a microscope.
       | 
       | Some of these photos are amazing, well worth spending 5 minutes
       | of my day to slow down a bit and scroll through them.
       | 
       | (Correction, 15 minutes. Don't miss the Honorable Mentions and
       | Images of Distinction sections!)
        
       | s0rce wrote:
       | I love this competition. I got an honorable mention in grad
       | school
       | https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2009-photomicrogra...
        
         | jason2323 wrote:
         | Belated Congratulations!
        
       | oblak wrote:
       | Oh boy. Is it me or do these get better each? I've been planning
       | to print a lot of those for our home. Not sure I am going to have
       | enough wall surface area.
        
         | philips wrote:
         | Is there a place to get high resolution versions for print?
        
           | oblak wrote:
           | I don't have particularly big prints in mind. I thought if
           | they look good enough for 24/27 inch 1080/1440 monitor, they
           | ought to suffice for a print of similar size. Not a big
           | expert, me
        
             | memling wrote:
             | check the dpi of your monitor. you'll want to consider that
             | the pixel density of your monitor is not the same as a
             | print. I printed six megapixel images at 8x10 inches and
             | you could probably in with lower res at that size. I would
             | be surprised to find that a 16x20 would work though.
        
       | sveme wrote:
       | Out of curiousity: Do they only accept images taken using Nikon
       | microscopes, or do they also accept other microscope makers
       | (Zeiss, Leica, Olympus)?
        
         | teraflop wrote:
         | > Images do not need to be taken with a Nikon-branded
         | microscope.
         | 
         | https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/photomicrography-c...
        
         | [deleted]
        
       | antattack wrote:
       | Photomicrography - the world where phone camera has not yet
       | conquered :)
       | 
       | I like 15th place photo, btw.
        
         | aidenn0 wrote:
         | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28542822
        
         | overcast wrote:
         | I'm sure that's next :) iPhone 13 just got Macro.
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2021-09-15 23:00 UTC)