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The 15th annual Nikon Small World in Motion<\/a> winners showcase the world\u2019s best and most dynamic microscopic videography. The first-place video shows the self-pollination of a thymeleaf speedwell, while another prize-winning video captures actin and mitochondria in mouse brain tumor cells, demonstrating the diversity of the microscopy on display this year. <\/p>\n The Nikon Small World in Motion competition launched in 2011 as a sibling to the Nikon Small World photography contest<\/a>. Nikon wanted to give microscopic videography a chance to shine following significant technological advances in macro movie recording and digital timelapse photography. This year\u2019s edition received 325 videos from artists and scientists in 34 different countries. <\/p>\n This year\u2019s first-place winner, Jay McClellan of Michigan, USA, is a retired engineer-turned-microscopist. His video documents the self-pollination of thymeleaf speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia), a special strategy that certain plant species use to adapt and survive in harsh environments. <\/p>\n McClellan\u2019s prize-winning video combines his career in industrial machine vision with his passion for photography and microscopy. The winning video shows a tiny blue blossom opening to embrace the morning sunlight, its stamens extending and then curling to dust its pistil with pollen, thus completing a self-pollination cycle in only a short period. <\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t some exotic plant you\u2019d need to travel the world to find. It\u2019s a common \u2018weed\u2019 that might be growing right under your feet,\u201d McClellan explains. \u201cI love the idea that anyone could discover beauty like this if they just looked closely.\u201d <\/p>\n However, while the plant may not be rare, that doesn\u2019t mean capturing the self-pollination is easy. The plant blooms unpredictably, making filming this process challenging. It required preparation, timing, and technique. <\/p>\n McClellan had to accurately predict how the plant would move during self-pollination and programmed a custom motion-control system to facilitate this task. He also utilized focus-stacking techniques for his timelapse, which also required a custom-built solution. <\/p>\n \u201cI may capture many terabytes of raw footage for a single shot. Running the focus-stacking overnight is like waiting for Christmas morning \u2014 you never know whether you\u2019ll get a disappointment or something amazing,\u201d McClellan says. <\/p>\n \u201cThe best part for me is not winning a prize but getting the opportunity to share my work with the world and let people see microscopic wonders in a new way,\u201d he adds. <\/p>\n The Rest of the 2025 Nikon Small World in Motion Winners <\/p>\n Alongside McClellan\u2019s first-place finish, the competition\u2019s judges also selected a series of top-five winners, all of which are featured below, plus nearly 20 honorable mentions. <\/p>\n \u201cAs we celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Small World in Motion competition, this year\u2019s winners showcase the extraordinary choreography of life unfolding at a scale beyond ordinary sight,\u201d explains Eric Flem, Senior Manager, Communications and CRM at Nikon Instruments. \u201cJay McClellan and all our other winners\u2019 videos reflect the competition\u2019s enduring purpose to inspire wonder, fuel discovery, and showcase the artistry inherent in scientific exploration.\u201d <\/p>\n Selected honorable mentions are featured below. <\/p>\n The complete gallery of all honored videos is available on the Nikon Small World website<\/a> and the Nikon Microscope Solutions YouTube channel<\/a>. <\/p>\n Image credits:<\/strong> Nikon Small World in Motion <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 15th annual Nikon Small World in Motion winners showcase the world\u2019s best and most dynamic microscopic videography.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":83159,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[267],"tags":[365,362,363,364,428,7512,366,18,117,19,17,14877,14043,11692,43706,55428,55429,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-83158","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-competition","13":"tag-contest","14":"tag-design","15":"tag-eire","16":"tag-entertainment","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-macro","20":"tag-microscope","21":"tag-microscopy","22":"tag-nikon","23":"tag-nikonsmallworld","24":"tag-nikonsmallworldinmotion","25":"tag-science"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Close-up](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/nikon-small-world-mcclellan-still-frame-800x454.jpg\")
A still frame from Jay McClellan\u2019s award-winning timelapse video. He used a 5x objective and focus stacking techniques to capture the self-pollination of the thymeleaf speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia). | Nikon Small World in Motion 2025 <\/p>\n