5 ms·

Tiny beauty: how I make scientific art from behind the microscope

135 points by pseudolus 2y ago

tromp 2y ago
Much more of such beautiful imagery can be found at Nikon's Small World Competition that's been running for 50 years [1]. [1] https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/photomicrography-competition https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/photomicrography-c...
mistrial9 2y ago
[flagged]
- verisimi 2y ago
  I don't get the story... Why is the student so zealous in guarding the imagery?
  - IanCal 2y ago
    A possibility is in trying to make sure they get their publications and nothing gets scooped.
amelius 2y ago
I guess the coloring is faked to make these images look better (or in the case of electron microscopy to have color at all). Would an AI be able to produce these colors given an EM image?
- Etheryte 2y ago
  I mean, this is covered in the first paragraph of the article, and then elaborated on further down.
JustBreath 2y ago
Great photos, especially being colored by hand. I'd love to see these in a museum with background information about the subjects and stories like the raspberry fungus.
- cchi_co 2y ago
  [dead]
nyc111 2y ago
I wonder if there are no colors at that scale
- hermitcrab 2y ago
  The false colouring is mainly due to the fact that they are using beams of electrons, not visible light. But a typical virus is ~100nm ( https://book.bionumbers.org/how-big-are-viruses/ https://book.bionumbers.org/how-big-are-viruses/ ) and the wave length of green light ~500 nm. So I guess it isn't really meaningful to ask 'what colour is a virus'.
cchi_co 2y ago
Fascinating and unique way to merge science and creativity.
- abid786 2y ago
  Sadly it's a dying art form. 40-50 years ago every scientific university department used to have a scientific photographer to allow the researchers to publish their photos in articles. My own godfather was a scientific photographer who retired and started commercializing scientific photos. Unfortunately now, due to shrinking budgets and the proliferation of iPhones the need for such photographers is vanishing.
- hasmanean 2y ago
  Maybe we need scientific sculptors. 3D printing and cnc machines will allow some interesting 3d forms to be generated.
hermitcrab 2y ago
Beautiful images. If you have an SLR/DSLR camera you can buy a macro lens and a flash and get some surprisingly good close ups of insects - with all sorts of details you can't see with the naked eye. You can safari in your own garden or nearby land. It opens up a whole new world. You'll need an electron microscope for viruses though!
- thenickdude 2y ago
  You can even shoot in the field using a microscope! I designed a 3D-printed mount to attach a $25 4x microscope objective to a DSLR or mirrorless camera: https://www.printables.com/model/143754-microscope-adapter-for-4x-macro-photography-with-s https://www.printables.com/model/143754-microscope-adapter-f... A shorter version of the adapter "underclocks" the objective to 2x magnification, which is much easier to hand-hold: https://www.printables.com/model/397489-microscope-adapter-for-2x-macro-photography-with-s https://www.printables.com/model/397489-microscope-adapter-f... If you already have a 3D printer then this is a very cheap way to get started.
  - hermitcrab 2y ago
    Cool. If you don't have a microscope and 3d printer than check out Laowa macro lenses. They are fairly affordable. Note that they are manual focus, auto focus is generally not very for macro photography.
  - hermitcrab 2y ago
    Ps/ I like that it makes your camera look like a weevil. ;0)
- jgalt212 2y ago
  Probably worth paying up for a ring light. Flash can cause unpredictable and hard to control glare and hot spots.
  - hermitcrab 2y ago
    In macro photography, flashes are usually used with a big diffuser. Ring lights probably have their own issues and don't seem to be that popular with macro photographers (from my non-expert knowledge).
ozbonus 2y ago
If you like this you might also like the YouTube channel Journey to the Microcosmos: https://youtube.com/@journeytomicro?si=FWOd1qA3CbG2Yb_V https://youtube.com/@journeytomicro?si=FWOd1qA3CbG2Yb_V
- haxiomic 2y ago
  Journey to the Microcosmos is fantastic, highly recommend! Chloé Savard is a scientist who contributes to the series, she posts beautiful microcosmos photos on instagram https://www.instagram.com/tardibabe https://www.instagram.com/tardibabe Enjoy!
- ddoice 2y ago
  Yup, It's a shame that they're going to close the channel

135 points by pseudolus 2y ago

Much more of such beautiful imagery can be found at Nikon's Small World Competition that's been running for 50 years [1]. [1] https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/photomicrography-competition https://www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/photomicrography-c...

mistrial9 2y ago

[flagged]

verisimi 2y ago
I don't get the story... Why is the student so zealous in guarding the imagery?
- IanCal 2y ago
  A possibility is in trying to make sure they get their publications and nothing gets scooped.

amelius 2y ago

I guess the coloring is faked to make these images look better (or in the case of electron microscopy to have color at all). Would an AI be able to produce these colors given an EM image?

Etheryte 2y ago
I mean, this is covered in the first paragraph of the article, and then elaborated on further down.

JustBreath 2y ago

Great photos, especially being colored by hand. I'd love to see these in a museum with background information about the subjects and stories like the raspberry fungus.

cchi_co 2y ago
[dead]

nyc111 2y ago

I wonder if there are no colors at that scale

hermitcrab 2y ago
The false colouring is mainly due to the fact that they are using beams of electrons, not visible light. But a typical virus is ~100nm ( https://book.bionumbers.org/how-big-are-viruses/ https://book.bionumbers.org/how-big-are-viruses/ ) and the wave length of green light ~500 nm. So I guess it isn't really meaningful to ask 'what colour is a virus'.

cchi_co 2y ago

Fascinating and unique way to merge science and creativity.

abid786 2y ago
Sadly it's a dying art form. 40-50 years ago every scientific university department used to have a scientific photographer to allow the researchers to publish their photos in articles. My own godfather was a scientific photographer who retired and started commercializing scientific photos. Unfortunately now, due to shrinking budgets and the proliferation of iPhones the need for such photographers is vanishing.
hasmanean 2y ago
Maybe we need scientific sculptors. 3D printing and cnc machines will allow some interesting 3d forms to be generated.

hermitcrab 2y ago

Beautiful images. If you have an SLR/DSLR camera you can buy a macro lens and a flash and get some surprisingly good close ups of insects - with all sorts of details you can't see with the naked eye. You can safari in your own garden or nearby land. It opens up a whole new world. You'll need an electron microscope for viruses though!

thenickdude 2y ago
You can even shoot in the field using a microscope! I designed a 3D-printed mount to attach a $25 4x microscope objective to a DSLR or mirrorless camera: https://www.printables.com/model/143754-microscope-adapter-for-4x-macro-photography-with-s https://www.printables.com/model/143754-microscope-adapter-f... A shorter version of the adapter "underclocks" the objective to 2x magnification, which is much easier to hand-hold: https://www.printables.com/model/397489-microscope-adapter-for-2x-macro-photography-with-s https://www.printables.com/model/397489-microscope-adapter-f... If you already have a 3D printer then this is a very cheap way to get started.
- hermitcrab 2y ago
  Cool. If you don't have a microscope and 3d printer than check out Laowa macro lenses. They are fairly affordable. Note that they are manual focus, auto focus is generally not very for macro photography.
- hermitcrab 2y ago
  Ps/ I like that it makes your camera look like a weevil. ;0)
jgalt212 2y ago
Probably worth paying up for a ring light. Flash can cause unpredictable and hard to control glare and hot spots.
- hermitcrab 2y ago
  In macro photography, flashes are usually used with a big diffuser. Ring lights probably have their own issues and don't seem to be that popular with macro photographers (from my non-expert knowledge).

ozbonus 2y ago

If you like this you might also like the YouTube channel Journey to the Microcosmos: https://youtube.com/@journeytomicro?si=FWOd1qA3CbG2Yb_V https://youtube.com/@journeytomicro?si=FWOd1qA3CbG2Yb_V

haxiomic 2y ago
Journey to the Microcosmos is fantastic, highly recommend! Chloé Savard is a scientist who contributes to the series, she posts beautiful microcosmos photos on instagram https://www.instagram.com/tardibabe https://www.instagram.com/tardibabe Enjoy!
ddoice 2y ago
Yup, It's a shame that they're going to close the channel