Microscopy
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A snow flake that landed on my glove.
Taken with my 4X Olympus Plan C infinity focus microscope lens (approximately 1cm frame width) two shots are focus-stacked here.
Will try again with more focus-stacking.
Trying to get better... Urania ripheus is extremely challenging!
Stack of 521 images, Nikon 60/0.7 ELWD 210/0 at 168mm extension.
A stack of 200 images of the wing scales of a butterfly at 40:1 magnification.
Lens: Nikon 40/0.5 ELWD 210/0
I wish everybody all the best for next year. May it be more peaceful than 2017...
Similar to the photo stacked image I made the other day (see below), but viewed under under my microscope a 2.5x higher magnification. The small yellow granules (pollen?) have a polar length of about 20 microns.
I am thinking that the main object in the image is the male Anther - the part of the stamen where pollen is produced. The approx. width of the head of the anther shown here is about 0.7 mm.
To create this image, I focus stacked a number of raw images taken with my microscope together, using Helicon Focus. At the magnification used, DOF is so narrow that each component image only had a small area in sharp focus. Hence the need to focus stack.
Stack of 511 images, taken with the Nikon BD Plan 60/0.7 ELWD 210/0. Magnification ratio = 48:1 (rel. to to the APS sensor size).
Object size 0.49 x 0.33mm.
A first stack with my newly modified stacking machine. It uses now a NEMA-17 stepper motor instead of an extremly slow contineous drive, and so I've been able to eliminate vibrations to a large extend. This results in visibly better resolution compared to the former setup.
The stack width was 0.25µm and 218 images were required to cover the depth of the wing scales. Lens: Nikon BD Plan 60/0.7 ELWD 210/0
It's been a long time sense I used my microscope to create photos, but with the Canon EOS R, it is a lot easier to photograph microscopic objects to create are. Zea root
you can buy my art at james-sage.pixels.com
Again a stack made with the Nikon M Plan 100/0,75 SLWD 210/0 at reduced extension. The stack is composed of 206 images.
80:1 is the magnification related to the sensor size. On the monitor you see it at approx 1100x maginfication related to its real size.
Made with the Nikon M Plan 100/0,75 SLWD 210/0 at reduced extension. The stack is composed of 466 images.
80:1 is the magnification related to the sensor size. On the monitor you see it at approx 1100x maginfication related to its real size.
I've repeated we experiment with reduced extension, this time with Urania ripheus again. I wnated to see if I can queeze out a little bit more detail again. I think it worked well :)
This stack consistes of 793 images at 0.14µm step width.
Stack of 275 images, taken with the Nikon M Plan 100/0.75 SLWD 210/0 at 195mm extension.
Object size 0.252mm x 0.167mm
This is another remake of wingscales I had already presented last year. This time I used the 60/0.7 ELWD 210/0 at 168mm extentsion and could achieve a much better resolution. A stack of 371 images.
It seems that these wing scales are covered by a thin layer of wax.
48:1 is the magnification related to the sensor size. On the monitor you see it at approx 675x maginfication related to its real size.
Always the same wing, but another part of it, The contrast between the extremly reflective and bright wing scales and the almost black ones was very challenging.
Nikon BD Plan 60/0.7 ELWD 210/0; stack of 225 images.
El género Cosmarium es uno de los más comunes y mejor representados de la familia de las Desmidiáceas. Se incluyen en él más de 900 especies formadas por dos semicélulas más o menos semicirculares y generalmente con una pared celular adornada con pequeñas verrugas y poros. El género Cosmarium está extendido por todo el planeta y aunque prefiere las aguas ligeremanete ácidas, muchas de sus especies se desarrollan también sin problemas en agua con cierta basicidad e incluso cargada de materia orgánica. La especie que mostramos hoy es de mediano tamaño, sobrepasa las 60 micras de diámetro, es de contorno casi circular y apenas presenta ornamentación,(sección cyclidium) poco adornado y solitario, así lo hemos hallado. Probablemente se trate de una forma de Cosmarium ralfsii. En el centro de Europa no es una especie común y aunque suele habitar en aguas con pocos nutrientes y ligeramente ácidas no es muy exigente con su hábitat. La muestra de la que procede la fotografía fue recogida apenas hace diez días en el Alto Manzanares, en la Pedriza, en una zona donde el agua está remansada. La fotografía ha sido tomada con 400 aumentos emplenado la técnica de contraste de interferencia. También en www.fotolog.com/proyectoagua
Stack of 314 images taken with the Nikon BD Plan 60/0.7 ELWD 210/0 at 195mm extension.
Object size 0.435mm x 0.289mm
I think I can place this image in the “never before seen” category. The main subject here is a micrometeorite smaller than a grain of sand. On the sides, we see rough natural diamonds with impurities that cause them to fluoresce. The diamonds are bathed in ultraviolet light, causing them to emit visible light – the diamonds are the source of light for this photo. Light within diamonds illuminating stardust.
Taken with a Mitutoyo Plan APO 20x microscope objective, the full image required 575 frames to focus stack. The stacking was done with a continuous light source, so the best option here is to switch your camera to an electronic shutter. At these magnifications, the mechanical shutter shakes the camera enough to create blurry images when not using flash. The software used here is important: Helicon Focus. It’s by far the most efficient and powerful tool for extensive focus stacking, but more importantly: The company is based in Kharkiv, Ukraine. If you’re into macro photography and microscopy, check them out: www.heliconsoft.com/ - they have a 20% off sale right now.
The situation in Ukraine is optimistic and dire simultaneously, with constant bombardment from Russian missiles aimed at civilian infrastructure. Putin’s Russia is attempting to destroy the electricity grid which would keep Ukrainians in the dark, and without heat. Such an act on its own could be considered a genocide by the Geneva Conventions, on top of the other genocidal war crimes already committed in 2022… and earlier. The true spirit of Ukraine was seen over the holidays, when those without power helped others in their community, uniting strangers for essential aid but also festive cheer.
The world continues to send aid to Ukraine. The first US “Patriot” missile defense system is reported to be en route to Ukraine. A month ago, the Bulgarian government formally announced that they are sending military equipment and weapons to support Ukraine. Weapons manufacturers around the world are making ammunition as quickly as possible to replenish stockpiles from those that have given the Ukrainian military everything they could. The “war machine” around the planet is in motion.
It feels like the world is watching from the sidelines, with the goal of destroying Russia while simultaneously being weary of China. The goal should be for Ukraine to win, but to offer too much support too quickly would possibly cause Russia to back away with a massive military still intact… or use the unthinkably devastating weapons. The goal seems to be wearing down the Russian forces until there is nothing left, while cruise missiles impact on homes and hotels. Innocent lives are lost in the process.
Sanctions appear to be working, but Russian weapons are still being built. Cruise missiles recently launched at Ukrainian civilian targets can be traced to manufacturing dates in September 2022. Drones continue to arrive from Iran, though thankfully they have been largely ineffective on the battlefield and are shot out of the sky. Rumours of weapons shipments from North Korea are gaining credibility. Weapons alone cannot win a war, and Russia is running very low on its most important asset: trained soldiers.
The losses continue in huge numbers, with over 700 Russian soldiers killed in action every day. Many of these men have almost no training, and are being sent to areas such as Bakhmut where the Ukrainian forces decimate wave after wave of frontal attacks, losing no ground in the process.
Soon, the fields will be frozen. New territory will be liberated by the Ukrainian people. I sincerely hope that when the front line is broken once again, the Russian efforts will dissolve along with their current government. Some sources suggest that Putin has a plan to escape to Venezuela if his government collapses, although such things are impossible to verify. This winter will be the most important phase of this global conflict.
Do you sit back and watch? Most of us do. This is a reminder that you can do something to help. Write to your politicians and say that you’d rather Ukraine win swiftly at this point, since Russia is no longer a threat to the West. You can create artwork, you can donate money, and you can vote with your wallet. Personally, I now avoid buying anything from a company that still operates in Russia. You can find that list here: www.dontfundwar.com/directory . There are companies in Ukraine you can support as well – I previously mentioned HeliconSoft, but I’ve purchased some delicious spices from this store: www.ebay.com/str/ethnofoods . I’m certain there are countless other things that can be sourced from Ukraine (I’m a big fan of cast iron cookware made in Ukraine from BIOL and Maysternya).
Stay safe out there, folks. To my friends and family in Ukraine, I think about you every day. Слава Україні!
Diatoms are a type of micro-algae. Over 100K different species exist within this group.
Here diatoms are seen at 250X by the Omax Microscope, a Christmas gift from Mary. It has opened yet another realm of photography for me! My goal is to use microscopy to create abstract images.
The camera is 14MP and zoom goes to 2500X, although with a compound microscope, 1000X is the reasonable limit for somewhat-in-focus images.
An experiment with the Nikon BD Plan 60/0,7 ELWD 210/0:
I've reduced the extension from 210mm to 180mm. The focal length of this lens can be caluclated to be 3.5mm = 210mm : 60.
Hence 180mm : 3.5 = 51 time magnication (M). The effective aperture (keff) determines the resolution that can be obtained. It can be calculated as follows:
keff = M / 2*NA
Therefore in case of 60x magnification keff equals 42,9.
The numerical aperture however remains constant. Hence the lower magnification leads to a significant increase of the effective aperture and thus a higher resulition:
51/(2*0.7) = 36.7
There is however a big drawback: Less extension means also that the image circle of the lens decreases! Therefore I expected a higher resolved image center combined with weaker edges. Surprisingly, as you can see above, the image circle of the 06/0.7 is obviously sufficiently large to compensate for that! The sharpness extends all the way to the edges. :)
This time a stack from the inner side of the wing.
Stack of 330 images, taken with the Nikon M Plan 100/0,75 SLWD 210/0 at 190mm extension, responding to 90x magnification relative to the sensor size.
On the monitor you see it at approx. 1200x maginfication related to its real size.
This is a repetition of an experiment that I had already shown with Urania wing scales. However, these wing scales show much more micro details and therefore they are much better suited to see the difference in resolution.
This is a stack of 241 images. The lens was again the Nikon BD Plan 60/0.7 ELWD 210/0. However instead of using the nominal 210mm extension, I used only 168mm.
The resolution (in line pairs per mm) of any microskope objective is given by the formula 1/ (0.00055mm / (NA+NA)) = LP/mm (0.00055mm = 550nm is the wavelength of green light). It is independent of the maginfication and refers to the resolution at the target area and not to the projected image on the sensor.
At nominal maginfication of 60:1, the target area measures 1/60th of the sensor area. In the case of this Sony APS sensor the target size is 0.393mm x 0.263mm.
The resolution for a numerical aperture of 0.7 is:
1/ (0.00055mm / (0.7+0.7)) = 2545 LP/mm
This means that 1000 line pairs can be resolved on the target at 60 times magnification.
If I decrease the magnification from 60 to 48 times the target size gets bigger: 0.492mm x 0.329mm. The resolution stays the same 2545 LP/mm, but thanks to the bigger target size one can now resolve 1252 line pairs. This is a gain of 25% in resolution!
The image circle of the 60/0.7 ELWD is sufficiently large for a full frame sensor. Hence the reduction of the image circle due to the shorter extension is not really a problem. It is only reduced by 20% but it could be reduced by 50% before the corner of the APS sensor hits the border of the image circle.
Therefore a resolution drop off in the corners is not observered at this reduced magnification.
48:1 is the magnification related to the sensor size. On the monitor you see it at approx 675x maginfication related to its real size.
I tried something new -- it didn't work very well but I got a couple of sharp photos and I just couldn't bring myself to throw these out.
UPDATE! This image has placed in the Nikon Small World contest! Which place? Noone knows until October, but I'm hoping for a new microscope!
Microscopy x1000
Trypanosoma brucei est une espèce de protiste parasite de l'ordre des Trypanosomatida. L'espèce provoque des maladies, des trypanosomiases chez l'homme et les animaux en Afrique. Il est transmis par des morsures de mouche tsé-tsé. Il existe 3 sous espèces de T.brucei: T.b.brucei, T.b.gambiense et T.b.rhodesiense.
Le trypanosome responsable de la maladie du sommeil est Trypanosoma gambiense. C'est un des plus étudiés. Son cycle de vie nécessite deux hôtes pour se développer et se reproduire. Outre l'homme, il a besoin de la mouche tsé-tsé (Glossina palpalis) qui est son vecteur.
Le trypanosome vit dans le sang, la moelle osseuse et le liquide céphalo-rachidien ou LCR de l'homme. On le trouve aussi chez les antilopes et les bovidés. Sa taille est de 20 µ ou micromètres de long sur 2 à 3 µ ou micromètres de large, ils sont entièrement mobiles.
Lorsque la mouche tsé-tsé pique une personne infestée, les trypanosomes passent dans l'intestin de la mouche et ils vont s'y multiplier. Ensuite ils vont passer dans le proventricule puis vont remonter dans les glandes salivaires où la multiplication se poursuit (asexuée).
Les parasites vont passer 18 à 25 jours dans la mouche puis seront transmis à l'homme par piqûre. La période d'invasion du parasite se fait après incubation de 10 à 15 jours. La propagation se fait aussi dans la lymphe ce qui provoque les fièvres. Il y a hypertrophie du foie (hépatomégalie) et de la rate (splénomégalie).
Quelques semaines après, ils envahissent les méninges et le liquide céphalo-rachidien provoquant tout d'abord des céphalées puis des troubles moteurs et des troubles réflexes puis des troubles psychologiques. La maladie est mortelle en quelques mois.
Trypanosoma brucei is a species of parasitic kinetoplastid belonging to the genus Trypanosoma. The parasite is the cause of a vector-borne disease of vertebrate animals, including humans, carried by genera of tsetse fly in sub-Saharan Africa. In humans T. brucei causes African trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness. In animals it causes Animal trypanosomiasis, also called nagana in cattle and horses. T. brucei has traditionally been grouped into three subspecies: T. b. brucei, T. b. gambiense and T. b. rhodesiense. The first is a parasite of non-human vertebrates, while the latter two are the known parasites of humans. Only rarely can the T. b. brucei infect a human.
T. brucei is transmitted between mammal hosts by an insect vector belonging to different species of tsetse fly, including Glossina palpalis in humans. Transmission occurs by biting during the insect's blood meal. The parasites undergo complex morphological changes as they move between insect and mammal over the course of their life cycle. The mammalian bloodstream forms are notable for their cell surface proteins, variant surface glycoproteins, which undergo remarkable antigenic variation, enabling persistent evasion of host adaptive immunity leading to chronic infection. T. brucei is one of only a few pathogens known to cross the blood brain barrier. There is an urgent need for the development of new drug therapies, as current treatments can prove fatal to the patient