Photography has reached a higher level as scientist-photographers from various disciplines submitted entries captured through the microscope during the 2011 Nikon International Small World Photography challenge.

The winning image came from Igor Siwanowicz of the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Germany for his green lace wing larva. Donna Stolz of the University of Pittsburgh won second place for a close-up of a blade of grass while Frank Fox of Fachhochschule Trier in Germany took home third place for his algae, Melosira moniliformis.

The winners came up with an assortment of masterpieces such as that of a close-up look at a micro chip in neon colors to a delicate black-and-white photograph of a quaking aspen leaf, based on a report by Live Science.com

Gabriel Luna of the University of California, Santa Barbara, won seventh place with a purple-and-red image of mouse nerve fibers. Douglas Moore of the University of Wisconsin made it to the top 20 for his photograph of glassy dinosaur bone cells.

This unique event is considered the primary forum for exhibiting the beauty and intricacy of life as perceived through the microscope.

For more than 30 years, Nikon has given accolades and monetary prizes to the world's top photo-micrographers who have made valuable contributions to life sciences, biological research and materials science.

Deadline for entries for next year's competition is on April 30, 2012. Nikon first stage this contest in 1974.