MICSCAPE
(ISSN 1365 - 070x)

Exploring the miniature world

Issue 205: November 2012.
Next update December 13th.

 

Includes special photomacrography feature by course students at the Rochester Institute of Technology, USA. Organised by course instructor Ted Kinsman.


Image left by Dushan Grujich: A neat adaptation of the LOMO OI-32 mains lamp to use a power LED with built-in intensity control.

 

 

 

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About Micscape

 

Issue 205 - November 2012 : Articles this month

Micscape Contacts
Micscape Editor:
David Walker
Comments on Micscape and
contributions welcomed.

Micscape submission guidelines .

Microscopy-UK
parent site coordinator:
Maurice Smith

A simple, low cost, conversion of incandescent-lamp illuminator to a power LED - Dushan Grujich (Australia) shares an elegant conversion of the LOMO OI-32 lamp to an LED self-contained lamp for the microscope base. (In Acrobat pdf format.)

Wild M20 microscope - Michael Wilkman (Finland) shares some practical modifications and servicing tips for this classic microscope. (In Acrobat pdf format.)

Some common protozoa: an oxymoron - Richard Howey (USA) describes and illustrates some typical species and comments on the recent taxonomic debate on how best to classify this group.

The DIY seamless condenser (Update Pt 4). Adding subtle iris control for COL - Paul James (UK) discusses improvements to his versatile home made condenser.

A close up view of a Black Eyed Susan cultivar - Brian Johnston (Canada) explores this attractive plant on the macro and microscopic scale.

Ten tantalizers: Microscopes that continue to fascinate - R. Jordan Kreindler (USA) and Manuel del Cerro (USA) present ten microscopes that have a certain appeal; both successful and unsuccessful models. (In Acrobat pdf format.)

Microscope slides of “Larva of Anthomyia Caniculata, from Stomach of Girl. – Microscopical Transaction, 1844” - Brian Stevenson (USA) discusses some intriguing nineteenth century slide preparations. (In Acrobat pdf format.)

Some fascinating survivals - Peter Paisley (Australia) proposes that the preparer of some unascribed slides was Arthur Farre, 'a multi-talented medical and scientific luminary'. Includes a slide possibly used in a murder case. (In doc format.)

James How and Co. operated by George John Smith, 1835 – 1905 ... - Brian Stevenson (USA) discusses this company's and its later owner's products, which included prepared slides.  (In Acrobat pdf format.)

William's Little People - Peter Paisley (Australia) continues his in-depth study of the work of the Norman family of slide preparers. He discusses the entomological work of William Norman. (In doc format.)

Notes on the potential vibration problems observed with two mirrorless digital cameras if used for photomicroscopy (Sony NEX-5N and Panasonic GF2), and the value of an electronic first curtain shutter option - David Walker (UK) explores why two typical mirrorless camera bodies gave more serious vibration problems than a mirrored DSLR body without mirror lock when firmly coupled to a large Zeiss Photomicroscope or for stereo microscope work.

In Focus: Marien van Westen has released an updated version of his free and versatile image capture / measurement / annotation software as Micam v.1.6. The new release includes improved measurement facilities and a time lapse capture feature. With thanks to the author for letting us know.

Steve Durr (UK) has updated his home pages 'An Introduction to Photomicrography, Algae, Protoctista & Bacteria' which includes striking imagery by Steve. With thanks to the author for letting us know.

The Leeds Microscopical Society (UK) has recently opened their new website at www.leedsmicroscopical.org.uk.Thank you to the Secretary Mike Smith for letting us know.

November 2012 articles written by students for
the 'Principles and Applications of Photomacrography' course
offered in the
Biomedical Photographic Communications (BPC) program 2012
at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), NY State, USA.

Micscape Acknowledgements: Many thanks to all the students over the years for sharing their enthusiasm and skills on such a wonderful variety of topics. Writing an article for Micscape initially formed part of their course as an assignment, which was a neat idea originally proposed by Ted Kinsman the course instructor in 2004 and repeated in most following years. Thanks to Ted for all the work behind the scenes to make this happen. Also thanks to Michael Peres, the dept. head (and course instructor 2009) for his introduction and for maintaining the department's generous collaboration over the years. 

BPC Program Overview by Professor Michael Peres, department head. Visit Professor Peres' website

Course tutor 2012 Ted Kinsman

All articles are in Acrobat pdf format (in order of author name). For readers with slower connections, the file sizes are given in Mbytes.

Right mouse button clicking of an article link and using 'Save As' to local PC can often be a faster download and more reliable than allowing to open in browser.

If you an enjoy an article, email feedback to an author via address in each article would be very welcome.

Photographing Spices and Herbs by Yulong Bao (15 Mb)

  Sands of the World. A Comparison of Composition by Laurel Buchanan (20 Mb)

Mayfly Ephemera simulans by Maggie Granzier (7 Mb)

  Dissecting an Instant by Ryan Harriman (13 Mb)

Mold! A Closer Look by Alexander Hannan (1 Mb)

  Scientific Documentation Through Photomacrography by Lauren Held (1.5 Mb)

Scorpions Entire Body Behaving like an Eye by Carissa Hurdstrom (1.5 Mb)

  Horseshoe Crab Limulus polyphemus by Abigail Jaske (5 Mb)

Grain Legume. Fabaceae Plant Family by Christine Lovenberg (3 Mb)

 

Photographing Wasps by Nicholas Mancuso (8 Mb)

Nursery Web Spider Pisaurina mira by Karen O'Connor (2 Mb)

 

Photographing the Structure and Form of Ammonites by Sarah Oros (12.5 Mb)

A Closer Look at Blue Cheese and Swiss Cheese by Claire Smith (5 Mb)

 

Yarn by Rachel Rosenbaum (123 Mb)

Pond Life by Jolearra Tshiteya (2 Mb)

 

 

We are delighted to receive contributions small or large from microscopy enthusiasts whether a novice or expert. If you have an image, tip or article, why not share it, this magazine is what you make it! Have a chat with us , to see how we can help share your interests. Submission guidelines .
Archive
Look for that elusive article on our site:
Micscape Magazine past issues online (read articles online using the original illustrated index for each month).
Article Library (browse articles by category)
Automated Search (a search engine for keyword searches in all articles)
Contributor index (a list of all Micscape contributors to date)
News - special notices - misc.

 

External links. Below are some of our favourites, which includes sites with extensive links and/or resources for the optical microscopy enthusiast.

External Microscopy forums:
Places to discuss the hobby or to raise queries.

www.photomacrography.net forums, galleries, articles on macroscopy and photomicrography.

www.quekett.net/forum/index.php forum for both Quekett Microscopical Club members and other enthusiasts.

Newsgroups
sci.techniques.microscopy (spoilt by excessive spam nowadays)

Yahoo groups: a ' P' denotes current and archived messages are public i.e. not limited to members.
'Amateur Microscopy' P (started November2008)
'Yahoo Diatom Forum' P
' Microscope 'P (>1500 members, very active)
' Microscopes '
'Microscopehobby' P (started Apr 2005)
'RealMicroscopy' P (started Sep 2005)
' Óptica Roma foro Microscopía' for Spanish speakers
' Wild M20 microscope '
' Nikon Coolpix photomicro and macrophoto '
' microcosmo ' ( for Italian speaking enthusiasts)
' CombineZ ' P stacking software forum created by the software's author

Mikroskopie-Treff.de (Extensive German microscopy forum; some English categories.)
Mikrobiologische Vereinigung München e. V. W ide range of articles and resources in German.
Le Naturaliste French based forum and image gallery for micro / macro but open to non French speaking international contributors.

Other sites
Clubs / Socs (Pro/Am) Mic-UK links page
Light Microscopy Forum links and articles
Little Imp Publications public domain books on CD. (Hosted by Savona Books).
Mikroskop Museum German website with resources on microscopes / makers .
Molecular Expressions awesome optical microscopy resources
Dennis Kunkel's SEM images stunning images
Diatoms Ireland - resource site by Leszek Wolnik
Leitz museum an illustrated resource compiled by Robert Allen
Microbe hunter a free monthly microscopy enthusiast magazine edited by Oliver Kim
Microscopies online magazine and Forum for French speakers
Micrographia articles, projects for the enthusiast
Microscopy Today paper journal with online archive
Modern Microscopy online journal by McCrone Group
Fun Science Gallery projects, articles on optics
G. Couger's microscopy links extensive links
Society for Amateur Scientists resources and support
A Cabinet of Curiosities a resource on Victorian microscope slides by Howard Lynk
www.viewsfromscience.com projects e.g. chilled stage for crystal growth studies and LED fluorescence
'Diatoms Ireland' resource by Leszek Wolnik
Historical makers of microscopes and microscope slides Brian Stevenson's extensive resource on Victorian slide makers
 Cambridge rocking microtome resources including manual

Web rings
Lightscapes polarised light macroscopy/microscopy, both artistic and scientific.

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Micscape is a free magazine for enthusiasts funded by Microscopy-UK and dedicated to non-commercial microscopy.
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