A picture of tiny drops of printer ink won first place in the 2026 Nikon Small World photo contest. The contest announced its winners on October 21. This was its 52nd year. It honored 86 pictures. The pictures show things through a microscope, a tool that makes very small things look bigger.
The winner, Ole Bielfeldt, studies design in Cologne, Germany. He built a special tool to take his picture. He made the paper move and kept the parts that send out ink still. This helped him get a clear picture. The ink drops moved very fast. He worked in the dark and used one short flash of light. His interest in taking pictures of tiny things began around 2021, with an old school microscope.
John-Oliver Dum won second place. His picture shows a jumping spider with dust from flowers on its body. Viewers can see its small hairs and some of its eight eyes. Other pictures in the contest show a mouse eye and human nerve cells.
