“The secrets of life’s minute details are revealed when seen through a microscope lens.”
Daniel Oldfield captures microscopic beauty and shares it with the world.
Known as The Microscopist, the RMIT PhD candidate has developed a vibrant social media following for his self-coloured close-up photographs.
Using a variety of instruments including scanning electron, transmission and atomic force microscopes, Oldfield unveils what usually lies hidden and invisible to the naked eye.
He limits himself to posting one image a week – which makes picking his favourites a serious challenge.
1. Bee wing (magnified 12,500x)
“I like the image composition in this picture. In particular, the black background helps to enhance the focus on the bee wing.
“I find that the structural components which make up the bee wing are visually fascinating. I found a dead bee in a park close to my home, on my way to university. Then I imaged the bee with a scanning electron microscope.
“Choosing colours for my images is a subjective process, on this occasion I imagined that light might refract through the wing creating a rainbow.”
2. Moth eye (magnified 211x)
“Moths are the night shift workers of the pollination world. Did you know the hairy bodies of moths help them to pollinate flowers?
“I’m really fond of this photo because the hexagonal shape of the moth’s eyes is more than just a pattern of pretty corneas. They help moths see ultraviolet rays, which are invisible to humans.
“The ridges running along the length of scales you can see are also really important. They have a high water contact angle which allows the moth to be water resistant.”
3. Moth wing scales (magnified 423x)
“Typically, the images I post online are taken with a scanning electron microscope. That’s why this photo of the scales on a moth's wing is another favourite of mine. It demonstrates how a scanning electron microscope image is initially black and white.
“The microscope works by scanning a focused electron beam over a surface to create the images. In future I might upload images taken with other types of microscopes, which will add even more variety into my online collection.”
4. Tin balls (magnified 2500x)
“I love this image because it proves the secrets of life’s minute details are revealed when seen through a microscope lens.
“What you’re seeing is merely the tin balls I use to calibrate my microscope.
"It was the first image I took for my microscopy blog. I went back and recoloured it and decided it looked too good not to share.”
5. Radiolaria (magnified 1300x)
“Radiolaria are a type of unicellular organisms found in the ocean. They have an intricate mineral skeleton. They are prime example of the wonderful things I get to photograph as part of my work in the RMIT Microscopy and Microanalysis Facility.
“The skeletal remains of Radiolaria come in a vast array of structures, which are not commonly observed in macroscopic sized animals. So their skeletons almost feel supernatural in appearance.
“The scanning electron microscope image was false coloured blue to enhance the other-worldly appearance.”
Oldfield, whose PhD is focused on the production of graphene, says microscopy images are a great tool for communicating the latest research currently being conducted in science, technology, engineering and maths.
“Professionals working in research can benefit from artistic imagery, which can provide new insights and stimulate further understanding,” he says.
“Who would’ve thought graphene research would produce such unique and captivating photographs of everything from tiny spiders to electrons?
“These images have the ability to engage and inspire – something vital for science communication in the 21st century.”
Story: Aeden Ratcliffe, Sean O'Malley