In microscopy (and macrophotography), there is an inherent trade-off between resolution (the ability to see fine detail) and depth of field- how much of the object is in focus. Now it is possible to collect a whole ‘stack’ of images and process the stack so that only the in-focus portions are retained, leading to an image with incredible detail *and* a large depth of field.

Here are two images, processed with the free program “Combine ZP” one of a butterfly wing and the other of a metal shaving. The butterfly wing was acquired with a 16x epiplan in transmission mode,, the metal shaving with the 25mm Luminar and reflected light.

Notice, in the wing picture, there are some regions with no ‘best focus’- I moved the stage too much- and in the metal shaving image, how the two sides of the shaving look ery different- one is smooth, the other crinkled.

Here are some more images of a fish vertebrae, showing the amazing structure present, and two images of some seedpod. All images taken with the 100mm luminar.

“Biomimetics”- the mimicking of biological structures in engineered materials- has been trendy for at least two decades. A recent trip to the beach yielded a bunch of fish bones, which I thought would be interesting to photograph. The bones have a very detailed structure which balances strength and weight. Here’s the first few images, taken using only the 100mm Luminar: the first one is a vertebrae, and reminds me of a “Star Wars” spaceship. The second is unknown, but has a very detailed inner structure.

Because our fluorescent light source was being repaired, we had some time to explore the world of macro imaging. Marco imaging is very different from both ‘normal’ photography and ‘normal’ microscopy, and the results can be quite striking. We have the tools to perform macro imaging under a wide range of magnifications, and so we decided to pay homage to the classic movie Powers of 10 . As we make additional sets of images, the good ones will be posted here.

Here is our first set of images, which zoom in on the balance point of an analytical microbalance. We hope you enjoy the images!