A 25-year-old German photographer, Ole Bielfeldt, won the 2026 Nikon Small World competition with a microscopic image capturing ink droplets in midair. His winning entry froze the moment an inkjet printer deposits ink onto paper, beating out 1,802 other global entries. Bielfeldt's interest in photomicrography began during the COVID-19 lockdown when he found an old microscope. He self-taught the art, building custom adapters and tools to connect the microscope to a camera. His brand, macrofying, features behind-the-scenes videos of his technique. The inspiration for his winning entry came from curiosity about inkjet printers, despite the challenge of capturing fast-moving ink. Bielfeldt deconstructed the printer, creating a stationary printhead and using a flash in a dark room as a shutter to freeze the droplets. He achieved this without expensive equipment and without using AI, relying on traditional methods. Nikon Instruments praised Bielfeldt's entry for its blend of imaging, ingenuity, and artistry. His work transformed a familiar object into something new, highlighting the microscope's creative potential. The image serves as a reminder of how microscopes can expand our perception of the world.