[HN Gopher] Ink droplets in motion snag top prize in Nikon Small...
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Ink droplets in motion snag top prize in Nikon Small World contest
Author : _Microft
Score : 373 points
Date : 2026-10-25 18:49 UTC (3 days ago)
(HTM) web link (arstechnica.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (arstechnica.com)
| hn-aarvin wrote:
| The same photographer has two other photographs[^1] which
| previously were ranked highly in the contest. All seem to focus
| on chemical reactions and are stunning.
|
| Interestingly, the previous two--of a candle and match--used 2.5x
| magnification, where as this one required 20x magnification,
| which just goes to show as to how tiny the printer mechanics
| really are.
|
| [^1]: https://nikonsmallworld.com/people/ole-bielfeldt
| radiorental wrote:
| Interesting, the Match Strike (2nd place in 2023) seems counter
| intuitive to me. The flames are leading the match with the
| following edge clearly visible.
|
| When I first saw his inkjet shot I refused to believe it wasn't
| completely CGI. So, I take it there is a degree of artistic
| freedom to compose a shot that may not be indicative of the
| actual subject? Then the line is drawn with AI enhancement?
| lossyalgo wrote:
| Regarding this image, the article states: "Bielfeldt does not
| use AI in his images, preferring to rely on traditional
| techniques."
|
| So I would presume it also refers to his other works?
| radiorental wrote:
| Absolutely, I'm not suggesting AI was used, just curious
| about the level of artistic creativity allowed when
| composing the image.
|
| For me, colour enhancements are expected, compositions is
| where we leave reality. Either way, all of these images are
| an amazing insight into a world too small to see with the
| naked eye.
| SAI_Peregrinus wrote:
| Flames are somewhat transparent. That's why you can see the
| wick of a candle through the flame that surrounds it. The
| same is happening here, the flame is all around the match
| head, not just in front.
| King-Aaron wrote:
| When I first saw this photo I refused to believe it was real.
| This is just so otherworldly, it's fantastic.
| Smoosh wrote:
| I still have misgivings that it is AI generated or modified,
| but assume that the judges have done their due diligence. I'm a
| little saddened that I now have to question things such as
| this.
| MBCook wrote:
| I think they had a problem with that last year, so I suspect
| they may be extra vigilant.
| gnabgib wrote:
| Last month https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49934521
| Liuser wrote:
| From the article: "Bielfeldt does not use AI in his images,
| preferring to rely on traditional techniques."
| gnabgib wrote:
| Yes. Macro photography always looks a little fake. Plus
| Nikon Small World doesn't have a good track record in 2026.
| Smoosh wrote:
| I see that it uses stacked images, so that can account
| for the lack of normal focus cues.
| madaxe_again wrote:
| Presumably he used software for this rather than doing it
| in a darkroom?
|
| FWIW I'm an astrophotographer, and I don't really view 30
| hours of stacked exposures as "a photo I took", rather as
| the outcome of a lengthy signals processing chain.
|
| I suppose the question is where the line is drawn. Ten
| years ago, I doubt "I made this picture in photoshop"
| would have qualified as photography. Now that we have AI,
| the window has moved.
| rcxdude wrote:
| I think it matters to what extend the representation in
| the image is derived from reality (as opposed to creative
| decisions made while modifying the image), really.
| Stacked exposures and photo stacking are largely there to
| remove the effects of the camera on the image, and better
| reflect the underlying reality, so I would still call the
| result a photograph. (color grading and such are often
| far more driven by creative decisions than the underlying
| reality and still that doesn't usually disqualify a
| photograph. In-camera visual effects are also still
| photographs).
| orbital-decay wrote:
| _> I don't really view 30 hours of stacked exposures as
| "a photo I took", rather as the outcome of a lengthy
| signals processing chain_
|
| Is there a difference? It's still a photometrically
| correct capture of the scene, unless you're using narrow-
| band filters or multispectral compositing you would see
| the same if you had huge eyes. In the same way a stacked
| smartphone photo is still a photo unless it's also using
| AI, and even then AI denoisers are pretty much accepted
| in photography as long as they don't meaningfully affect
| the subject (as well as more traditional things like CPLs
| or extra lighting).
|
| Nothing in Nikon's challenge is natural, it's still a
| photo as long as it represents something real.
| Gigachad wrote:
| All photos are the result of processing signal over time.
| The only difference between a 1/1000 photo and a 30h
| photo is the amount of time.
| mmmlinux wrote:
| It's not AI, but it is a stacked photo.
| doctorzook wrote:
| It's a great photo, but the second-place jumping spider is my
| favorite: it is just so adorable.
|
| https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2026-photomicrogra...
| jacquesm wrote:
| It is! What are the little balls, are they pollen?
| hack1312 wrote:
| Yes, the title of the photo is "Jumping spider (Salticus
| scenicus) with pollen"
| jacquesm wrote:
| Hah, ok, totally missed that, thank you. But it seemed an
| obvious candidate, they reminded me of those clingy balls
| that come off some plants so I figured they must be
| something like that.
| contingencies wrote:
| Another class of biological thing that look broadly
| similar under magnification are fern spores. I guess moss
| spores too but I haven't seen those.
| jacquesm wrote:
| Interesting, I have some here I should look at them under
| a microscope.
| JumpCrisscross wrote:
| The parasitoid wasp doing its little dance move [1] gave me a
| chuckle.
|
| [1]
| https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2026-photomicrogra...
| lossyalgo wrote:
| I'm somewhere between "awww how cute!" and "I'm gonna lose my
| lunch".
| nafey wrote:
| This pic reminds me of the Children of Time series of novels
| 10u152 wrote:
| Portia!
| karlfrohlich wrote:
| Holy moly, I love it
| danw1979 wrote:
| I will never moan again about having pollen in my eyes during
| hayfever season.
| hyperbovine wrote:
| Yeesh that is creepy.
| sandworm101 wrote:
| Is it so adorable because of the eyes? I don't think spiders
| have pupils. That effect seems to be a reflection of the
| camera/lens/apparatus taking the picture, rather than the
| actual spider.
| lossyalgo wrote:
| For me its the seemingly cross-eyed look combined with the
| bits of pollen that remind me of a flower child i.e. a hippie
| spider.
| Levitating wrote:
| I have hard time accepting this is a real image. Do pollen
| really look like that?!
| s0rce wrote:
| I'm guessing the pollen grains on it also look neat.
| selectodude wrote:
| Inkjet printers for their faults are some of the most insane
| technology that I can think of.
| yhjc2692 wrote:
| Yep, the entire field of MEMS is both outlandishly complex and
| fascinating. For those who are curious, take a quick look at
| https://courses.washington.edu/me557/nthu/mems.pdf, which gives
| a nice overview of the different mechanisms and manufacturing
| processes involved.
| dekhn wrote:
| I like the DMD
| (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_micromirror_device) in
| DLP projectors: millions of tiny mirrors each of which is
| electrically controlled to move to a specific angle quickly on
| torsion hinges.
| yhjc2692 wrote:
| "Neurons in an expanded mouse brain" (3rd place) is also
| stunning:
|
| https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/2026-photomicrogra...
|
| I didn't know brains actually look like this inside. Our world
| truly is beautiful, across all scales!
| changoplatanero wrote:
| i'm not an expert but i think the word expansion here is
| referring to techniques they use to spread everything out in
| order to make it easier to see. someone told me that they use
| the same material that baby diapers are made out of which
| expands when you soak it in water.
| small_model wrote:
| Where is the KV Cache in this pic?
| jareklupinski wrote:
| that's in the mind (not pictured)
|
| this is just brain
| bobmcnamara wrote:
| The real KV cache was inside of us the whole time.
| DANmode wrote:
| Not pictured.
| hobofan wrote:
| Yes, sodium polyacrylate is used in both expansion microscopy
| and baby diapers.
|
| However you also need a few other ingredients to ensure
| isotropic expansion, or otherwise the expanded sample isn't
| scaled uniformly in all axis and you get a skewed view of the
| sample.
| dekhn wrote:
| Check out some early drawings by Santiago Ramon j Cajal;
| https://daily.jstor.org/cajal-imagining-the-brain/ (late 1800s)
| jcims wrote:
| Looks like this is the instragram page of the photographer for
| the inkjet photo.
|
| It's very obviously not a standard inkjet printer setup, but if
| you poke around you'll see some custom rigs that make it come
| together.
| landonxjames wrote:
| There is an interesting video of his rig for this shot in this
| article: https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/masters-of-
| microscopy/ole-bi...
| _ache_ wrote:
| The video is nice but the movement is inverted from the photo.
|
| I would like to redo the setup myself.
| dekhn wrote:
| basically: some aluminum extrusion for structure, some linear
| actuators for adjusting the position, and a nice camera with a
| nice objective. Plus he took apart the printer to get the
| sample in frame and controllable.
| 7kago_yomi wrote:
| Next, I would like him to visualize the "macro" economy side of
| things too.
| melq wrote:
| Pollen (second photo with the spider) looks so sinister!
| cellsstudio wrote:
| Thanks for sharing - what an incredible perspective on the
| mundane. Seriously seems like peering into an alien world and
| really it's just what's happen while someone sips their coffee
| and stares at a wall haha.
|
| Anyone seen Thirteenth Floor that old 90s VR movie? Really
| reminds me of the power for that.
| jacquesm wrote:
| That was a very good movie. I really liked it, even if the
| ending was predictable.
| erickhill wrote:
| I've been seeing this photo all over the place recently.
| HelloUsername wrote:
| Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50204697
| luipugs wrote:
| Linking to a page that links to the source is wild.
| HelloUsername wrote:
| > Linking to a page that links to the source is wild.
|
| Sorry, what I meant was, the source has been posted earlier
| on Hackernews which generated a bit of discussion
| karlfrohlich wrote:
| I truly thought this photo was AI, wow!
| rob74 wrote:
| When you look at those globs of ink hanging from the print head,
| you start wondering how anything ever gets printed cleanly...
| jeroenhd wrote:
| Inkjet printers are incredible technology taken for granted by
| how cheap the printing hardware has become in a short period of
| time. Printer companies moving towards rent seeking also
| doesn't help appreciate how incredible it is that for 50 bucks
| you can have technology that launches droplets with a precision
| measured in micrometers.
| hyperbovine wrote:
| "Ole Bielfeldt's winning image embodies what makes Nikon Small
| World so powerful..."
|
| PR speak is so awful. You made it a whole seven words without
| talking about yourself, congratulations.
| woliveirajr wrote:
| It would be funny if it was a Canon printer. Their quality and
| reliability are another league.
| lossyalgo wrote:
| There are some awesome macro videos he made during printing as
| well: https://x.com/macrofying/status/2112904628509528219
| DavCreator wrote:
| https://xxcancel.com/macrofying/status/2112904628509528219
| ku1ik wrote:
| This winning photo looks like a modern demoscene production!
| dotancohen wrote:
| I always try to convine my comments to the content of the
| article, but the captcha here has gone beyond all sense. It's
| presenting gen AI images of household items and asking me to
| identify e.g. the curtains... To prove that I'm human. It's
| literally a game of "guess what was in the prompt that generated
| this"... To prove that I'm human.
| asdff wrote:
| Wait till you get the captchas that are serving what appears to
| be local imagery data. Spooky.
| eig wrote:
| Does anyone know if there is a wallpaper collection of the
| winners of this competition over the years? Would love to make a
| slideshow of these images as my wallpaper.
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(page generated 2026-10-28 20:01 UTC)