The 15th annual Nikon Small World in Motion competition has unveiled its winners, presenting some of the world's most captivating and dynamic microscopic videography. This year's first-place winner features the remarkable self-pollination process of a thymeleaf speedwell, while other prize-winning entries include stunning footage of actin and mitochondria in mouse brain tumor cells, highlighting the incredible diversity and scientific value of microscopic imaging captured by participants.

The Nikon Small World in Motion competition was established in 2011 as a companion to the renowned Nikon Small World photography contest. The video-focused competition was created to celebrate and promote microscopic videography, taking advantage of significant technological advances in macro movie recording and digital time-lapse photography techniques. This year's competition attracted 325 video submissions from talented artists and scientists representing 34 different countries around the world.

Jay McClellan of Michigan, a retired engineer who has transformed his career into microscopy, claimed the top prize with his extraordinary documentation of thymeleaf speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia) self-pollination. His winning video demonstrates a special survival strategy that certain plant species employ to adapt and thrive in challenging environmental conditions. McClellan's achievement represents a perfect blend of his professional background in industrial machine vision with his personal passion for photography and microscopy.

The award-winning video captures a tiny blue blossom as it opens to embrace the morning sunlight, with its stamens extending and then gracefully curling to dust its pistil with pollen, completing an entire self-pollination cycle in a remarkably short timeframe. "This isn't some exotic plant you'd need to travel the world to find. It's a common weed that might be growing right under your feet," McClellan explains. "I love the idea that anyone could discover beauty like this if they just looked closely."

Despite the plant's common nature, capturing this self-pollination process presented significant technical challenges. The plant blooms unpredictably, making the filming process extremely difficult and requiring exceptional preparation, precise timing, and advanced technique. McClellan had to accurately predict how the plant would move during self-pollination and programmed a custom motion-control system specifically designed to facilitate this complex task. He also utilized sophisticated focus-stacking techniques for his time-lapse work, which required a completely custom-built solution.

"I may capture many terabytes of raw footage for a single shot. Running the focus-stacking overnight is like waiting for Christmas morning – you never know whether you'll get a disappointment or something amazing," McClellan reveals. He used a 5x objective lens combined with focus stacking techniques to achieve the stunning clarity and depth seen in his winning submission. "The 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," he adds.

Beyond McClellan's first-place achievement, the competition's judges selected a comprehensive series of top-five winners, along with nearly 20 honorable mentions that showcase the breadth and quality of microscopic videography being produced worldwide. These additional winners demonstrate the extraordinary range of subjects and techniques being employed by microscopic videographers, from biological processes to cellular interactions and beyond.

Eric Flem, Senior Manager of Communications and CRM at Nikon Instruments, emphasized the significance of this milestone year. "As we celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Small World in Motion competition, this year's winners showcase the extraordinary choreography of life unfolding at a scale beyond ordinary sight," Flem explains. "Jay McClellan and all our other winners' videos reflect the competition's enduring purpose to inspire wonder, fuel discovery, and showcase the artistry inherent in scientific exploration."

The complete gallery featuring all honored videos is now available for viewing on the official Nikon Small World website and the Nikon Microscope Solutions YouTube channel, providing public access to these remarkable microscopic discoveries and artistic achievements.