A few weeks ago, photographer Eugenijus Kavaliauskas captured a highly-magnified image of an ant for Nikon's Small World Photomicrography Competition. While he did not receive first prize in the competition, his image did go viral online.
Why was his picture so special, though? After all, we see ants crawling around the floor almost every day. Well, due to the magnification, we saw a new side of the ant; a side, or face, we wished we never saw.
The ant has been described as having the face of a demon, which is certainly not a lie. I was definitely shocked to discover that ants looked like that. Seeing this image sparked my curiosity. What do other small things look like up close?
1. Sand
Did it ever occur to you that the crunchy minuscule rocks you accidentally get a gulp of while relaxing at the beach are so colorful and unique? Me either! One of my personal favorites, the magnified image of sand is truly a sight to see. While you would never see the tiny pieces of coral and seashell with your eye alone, be sure to appreciate sand next time you see it.
2. Salt and Pepper
This is the type of cereal they should be serving at the cafeteria. Wait a minute, it’s not cereal! This marshmallow/cornflake-like substance is actually salt and pepper when zoomed in very closely. It may look delicious, but do not eat it as is.
3. Lice
Remember when you had to go to the nurse's office in elementary school to get your head checked for lice? Did you ever think the actual creatures would look this creepy? That is what the acrobatic insect looks like as it clings on to your hair – definitely a sight to give you the heebee jeebies.
4. Kitchen Sponge
Let’s be real: nobody likes washing the dishes. However, the tool used to perform this dreaded task actually looks quite cool when magnified. It looks almost like honeycomb; the inside of a bee’s hive. Maybe even DNA, or pretzels!
5. Soap Foam
Going along with the theme of washing, this is what soap foam looks like when zoomed in closely. Pretty cool, huh? In my opinion, all windows should look like this. I would’ve never expected geometric shapes from bubbles!
6. Cat Tongue
Have you seen the newest museum installation? This art piece is truly unique, looking like a collection of tongues. Wait, what appears to be a composition of art is actually a cat tongue! This is probably why cat’s tongues are so sandpaper-y.
Many of these images were really shocking to see. I would have never guessed how awesome (or scary) some things were! Whenever I wash the dishes, my mind will be filled with the magical pictures of the sponge and foam. When walking down the street, I will never truly look at an ant the same way. My eyes have been opened to a whole new world – a whole new mini-world.