General microscopy thread.

specious_reasons · #1 03-30-2021, 07:14 PM

I feel like I need a thread for just dumping random microscopy pictures.

Mrs. Reasons got a bunch of spring flowers. Yesterday, I noticed that one of the flowers was pollinating. I don't know the name of the flower, but it did have some funky polygonal shaped pollen...

This is the clearest higher magnification picture I have - the new camera doesn't have a "touch to take a picture" option, and I'm getting movement when I press the shutter button. I need a remote (or connect it to a laptop or phone), to avoid movement.

Ari · #2 03-30-2021, 07:37 PM

Oow!

Check and see if your camera has a ‘2 second timer’ option, it can be useful to allow vibrations to stop, before it snaps a photo.

specious_reasons · #3 03-30-2021, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ari

Oow!

Check and see if your camera has a ‘2 second timer’ option, it can be useful to allow vibrations to stop, before it snaps a photo.

It does! Thanks for the suggestion. That'll hold me over until I get remotes set up.

JoeP · #4 03-30-2021, 11:08 PM

Microscope pictures are back! :cheerful:

specious_reasons · #5 03-31-2021, 02:19 AM

Connected the camera to my phone. Able to take remote pictures with silent shooting, so that helped. 400x and 200x pictures were better but still aren't sharp, so I have some other adjustments to make.

I also had some really intrusive dust on the lens, which I cloned out in the above, but it was in obvious and bad places in my new test photos.

specious_reasons · #6 04-01-2021, 07:44 AM

Oh, yeah, that's much better:

I still cloned out tons of dust, but I'm generally pretty pleased here.

specious_reasons · #7 04-04-2021, 01:29 AM

I went for a bike ride earlier today, with the intent of travelling past a few places where I know there is standing water. I think I did well for myself:

Unidentified algae 200x darkfield

cyclops nymph 100x darkfield

unidentified algae, 100x

The same cyclops nymph above, 100x lightfield.

specious_reasons · #8 04-04-2021, 09:10 PM

More!

Both at Approx. 100x

Another algae colony, image trimmed to remove some out of focus debris.

A very wiggly nematode. I took a video, but didn't like it.

specious_reasons · #9 04-04-2021, 09:18 PM

Current setup, (ignore the dust, the lighting made it look worse!)

1. AmScope with infinity optics.
2. Sony a7iii
3. Sigma mirrorless to Canon EF adapter - all my cameras were Canon up to this point, I have all Canon mount cameras.
4. AMscope Canon DSLR eyepiece adapter. Right now, this is probably the weak link in my system, but better solutions are more permanent and costly.
5. The 2nd microscope in back is a professional American Optical from the 1940s - not my Dad's, that's in it's case.

IMG_8460.jpg

specious_reasons · #10 06-07-2021, 12:50 AM

It's a nice bike ride to a local retention pond, so on Friday I collected some water. It was pretty low (hadn't rained for many warm, sunny days), so I picked up some muddy water and diluted it. I was in luck, two very photogenic genera were present. First up I'm pretty sure both of these are two species of Euglena:

This one is my favorite of the day, even if I have some bad chromatic aberration:

Both were taken at approx 200x.

specious_reasons · #11 06-07-2021, 12:55 AM

Next up, a favorite subject of mine, these all look like the same species of Closterium, although some were turning red - probably because they were adapting to the dark silt they were in:

First up, approx 100x:

Second, approx 200X:

Third, a 5 image stack at approx 400x:

Last, a 6 image stack at approx 400x:

specious_reasons · #12 06-08-2021, 07:47 PM

I have two pictures I really like of that longer Euglena, but I didn't work through it until today. This one has some more interesting parts in focus, but I like the shape of the previous one better:

JoeP · #13 06-08-2021, 07:53 PM

Asparagus!

JoeP · #14 06-08-2021, 07:53 PM

:dancingeuglena:

:angryeuglena:

This smilie hoard is really lacking.

ceptimus · #15 04-16-2022, 08:01 PM

Beauty Through the Microscope: Bugs Like Youâ€™ve...

JoeP · #16 04-17-2022, 07:05 AM

Thanks, now I want a printer the size of a room.

specious_reasons · #17 05-16-2022, 03:00 AM

I had a 5 XFP coin left over from our Tahiti vacation:

JoeP · #18 05-16-2022, 09:45 PM

"Make your money grow with specious_reasons"

specious_reasons · #19 06-01-2022, 01:43 AM

The Olympus Image of the Year contest winners have been announced:
Olympus Image of the Year Award 2021 | Olympus LS

This is much less prestigious than the Nikon Small World contest, but...
1. I'm still not good enough to win either.
2. I didn't enter anything because I've had a huge dry spell, and when I have, I haven't made anything I like enough to enter.

specious_reasons · #20 06-01-2022, 01:45 AM

The Olympus judges certainly have a look they're preferring, and it's not something I do normally.

JoeP · #21 06-01-2022, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by specious_reasons

The Olympus judges certainly have a look they're preferring, and it's not something I do normally.

Artificially (or at least artificially enhanced) coloured?

specious_reasons · #22 06-01-2022, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeP

Quote:

Originally Posted by specious_reasons

The Olympus judges certainly have a look they're preferring, and it's not something I do normally.

Artificially (or at least artificially enhanced) coloured?

A lot of the pictures are using fluorescence, which is going to make those strong contrasting images with bold colors. I can't do fluorescence - I don't have the equipment, supplies or skill to do it.

I can do darkfield images, but I'm never going to get those sharp colors and highlighted structures like that.

A hallmark of these photo contests is well prepared subjects. I don't usually have the patience or energy for that.