Rainy day activities #3

A bit of microscopy and photo manipulation via Picasa which I have found I can use to edit RAW files which saves me upgrading my trusty Photoshop7.

The original image was from a prepared slide of a cross section of a cucumber stem.

Hidden beauties #9

Card 9 - Pith stars

This image of stellate parenchyma is from one of many prepared slides given to me. The slides had been made as part of a university course and provided a basis for my first explorations into microscopy. The slides themselves seemed ancient, having been made before I was born.

The photograph is one of my first forays into photomicrography. As a biology teacher I had realised that pupils very often were not sure what they were looking for on a slide - for example, air bubbles were often mistaken for cells.  So, I decided that if I could provide photographs which helped them identify what they were looking for, the learning experience might be more fulfilling.

The set up with my original microscope was quite challenging, the lens from the SLR was removed and then using a special attachment, the camera was set on the eyepiece. Focusing was quite difficult, both because the light entering the camera wasn't too bright (it was reflected from an old table light via a mirror) and also because the weight of the camera made the whole set up rather unsteady. 

Some microscopy

I set up the stereoscopic microscope to try out the latest camera (Pentax Optio) to put it through its paces. The results were disappointing, too blurred. So it is back to the trusty Nikon.

Parsley seeds
Top - Pentax. Bottom - Nikon

Playing around with different lighting angles on ammonites

Water flea

Water Flea Waltz from Wim van Egmond on Vimeo.

Such stunning photography!