JMU Microscopy Photo Contest

Winners 2023

2nd Place Faculty/Staff Award

Let me see your Peacock!

by Nikki Cubbage

1st Place Faculty/Staff Award

Sneeze Dust

by Jackson Tester

1st Place People's Choice Award

Moon Prism Power, Make Up!

by Kat Neubacher

1st Place People's Choice Award

3rd Place Faculty/Staff Award

3 Little Pigs Fur

by Kianna Butts

All Entries 2023

3 Little Pigs Fur

By Kianna Butts

Fibers from my dangling earring, 10x.

Pretty in Pink 

By Anne Light

This specimen is burgundy lipstick smeared on a slide. This image was very easy to take but depth of field was hard to control. 20x. 

I love coffee

By Gracie Twigg

Coffee Hound card. 20x.

Ladybug Town

By Rishe' Joseph

Skittles fun size pack. 20x

Garlic Salt

By Jack Orton

Garlic Salt. Phase contrast, 20x.

Moon Prism Power, Make Up!

By Kat Neubacher

Mixed highlighters. Phase contrast, 10x.

Gold Digger

By Bryan Lopez-Yanes

Gold cross necklace. 10x. 

Salt, Lime...

By Trinity Dovan

Juice from vesicle of a lime. Phase contrast, 40x. 

Tangerine Crystals

By Lisa Ong

Mandarin orange peel. Polarization, 20x.

Ain't Easy Bein' Wheezy

By Emily Plant

Hot girls have asthma!! Poof of my inhaler sprayed directly on a slide. Phase contrast, 40x.

Spider Web

By Anne Light

This specimen is one layer of a tissue corner. This image is cool because the cotton is birefringent material. Polarization, 10x.  

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Glitterness 

By Fareeha Ahmed

Holographic glitter nail polish. I like how the glitter specks diffract the light so well that the dark background has a rainbow hue! Looks like space to me. Darkfield, 10x. 

Sugar Sugar!

By Lisa Ong

Non-hormonal placebo pill from birth control pack that was crushed with a mortar and pestle. Polarization microscopy, 10x.

When You Wish Upon A...

By Kianna Butts

BC Aspirin Powder. Polarization microscopy, 10x. 

Ke$ha Core

By Julia Dorf

As music icon, Ke$ha, once said, "Dirt and glitter cover the floor." Pictured here are pieces of iridescent glitter. DIC microscopy, 20x. 

Reptile Scales

By Kat Neubacher

Tea leaves. 20x.

Let me see your Peacock!

By Nikki Cubbage

Peacock feather. Darkfield, 10x.

Sneeze Dust

By Jackson Tester

Spiked Pollen Grain. Phase Contrast, 20x

Butter's sssskin

By Leah Dobson

Butter's skin (a 2-year-old ball python). Darkfield, 10x. 

Butter's sssskin pt2

By Leah Dobson

Butter's skin (a 2-year-old ball python). Phase contrast, 10x.

Rest in Peach

By Emily Plant

Fungal spores and nematodes from a moldy peach. 20x.

The Floor is Lava 

By Fareeha Ahmed

Lip tint on a wet mount slide (with lots of air bubbles). DIC microscopy, 20x. 

One BIG Sloppy Tomato

By Nikki Cubbage

Image of a slice of tomato. The inside of the tomato imaged better than the skin because it allowed more light to penetrate, but made it harder to have a flat sample to keep everything in focus.

I got my drivers license last week

By Gracie Twigg

Drivers license. 10x.

STOP! You almost made me drop my croissant!

By Julia Dorf

Pictured here is mold that was growing on my roommate's croissant. DIC microscopy, 100x.