Microscopic Dimensions

Yesterday, I stumbled upon our microscope from high school biology class. I have many memories of looking at putrid smelling substances through those lenses. Given my fascination with capturing unique visuals, I removed the widest lens on our scope (4x/0.10). 

My father, the reason I'm interested in photography, came aboard the project. Together, we rigged our tripod os the camera would face down, attached the 100mm macro lens to the 5DMkII, and created a black paper cone (to cover the camera lens at one end and the microscope lens at the other). The microscope lens was then rigged to set a centimeter above the intended object (approx. the distance for focus) with enough space for light to be shown on the subject. 

From there, we photographed a blue Jolly Rancher, a quarter, a spinach leaf, a brown sugar cube, salt, a wine cork, and an almond. 

Achieving focus was the most challenging part and resorted from both focus on the 100mm as well as moving the microscope lens closer and further from the object, depending on its shape. 

The experiment was quite successful as you can see from the images below. It was a wonderful project that furthered fascination with everyday objects and encouraged ingenuity.