This image won first place in the NSW photomicrography competition, in 1990. Looking at the other entries from that year, the competition seemed to be fairly stiff. I will most definitely be posting some more images from that year!
This particular image was produced by Richard H. Lee of Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Illinois, and looks for all the world like a fish rising to the surface of the water to me.
I’m glad you mentioned the others. This growth cartilage at 120x magnification is fantastic: https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/1990-photomicrography-competition/growth-cartilage
These are all amazing, my favourite is the marine parasites