LED
illumination for microscopes - Ian
Walker (UK) shows how cheap and effective LED lamps can
be made from items such as spare eyepieces or old enlarger
lenses.
Venus's
girdle - Bill Amos
(USA) shares his enthusiasm for the beautiful marine organisms
called ctenophores or comb
jellies, in particular the genus Cestum.
A gallery of irreplaceable
photomicrographs. Melt specimens of thioacetamide,
testosterone and liquid
crystal
illuminated by polarized
light - Brian
Johnston (Canada) shares some stunning images of crystals
he photographed some years ago with observations how
some prepared slides of crystals can change with time.
Some stains for amateur microscopy
- Traditional stains are becoming increasingly difficult for the
enthusiast to obtain. Walter Dioni (Mexico) describes his experiments
with some easily accessible food dyes which he has successfully used
for staining microorganisms and other subjects.
COL's
renditioning of blood
- Paul James (UK) shares some striking images of blood using
circular oblique illumination with notes on how they were
created.
Examples
of the animation of macroscopy and microscopy subjects using
sequential jpeg images -
David Walker (UK) presents some animations using jpeg files rather than
video clips or animated gifs with tips for making them. Animation
examples include a 'tour' around a topaz crystal and the classic
demonstrations of birefringence with iceland spar.
Editor's note:
The summer Micscape issues are traditionally slimmer with enthusiasts
out and about exploring the world of nature. Why not have a gentle
stroll around the Micropolitan Museum,
which celebrates many of the wonders of the microscopic world. It was
produced by and showcases Wim van Egmond's stunning photography.
Or read
Frithjof Sterrenburg's online 'Microscopy
Primer', an eight chapter overview of optical microscopy
which can be downloaded for offline reading.
In
focus: www.amateurmicrography.net
- "An online bulletin board
community dedicated to amateur microscopy, photomicrography, and
photomacrography." This exciting
new website is beautifully
presented and with a growing range of valuable
resources; these include forums for discussions/sharing
tips and queries,
image hosting and articles. I particularly liked the article by
Tom Webster, entitled
'The world's best microscope' which certainly
struck a chord from my own experiences
as a fellow microscopy enthusiast. David
Walker
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