The world is full of teeny tiny wonders that are too small for the human eye to see. Through photomicrography—the photography of a small object taken with the aid of a microscope—we are able to see these miniature amazements. Originally created for scientific purposes for the study of microscopic details, photomicrography is commonly used in forensic labs and medical research. But now more and more photographers are using it as a form of artistic expression. From man-made technology to living creatures and biological materials, photomicrography is changing the way we see the world around us.
Creepy Crawler
Most of us have come across a daddy-longlegs crawling along in our backyard. Daddy-long-legs, officially known as Opiliones, are harmless creatures often mistaken for spiders. (FYI the rumor that they actually have extremely poisonous venom but don’t have strong enough fangs to bite us is just a myth.) Although most of us have never looked at one under a microscope, if we did, this is what we’d see. This photo was taken by Charles Krebs from Issaquah, Washington. It earned 12th place in Nikon’s Small World Photomicrography Competition earlier this year.
