Favourite things...

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Beatsy
Posts: 2105
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 3:10 am
Location: Malvern, UK

Favourite things...

Post by Beatsy »

One of my favourite things is that time just after I finish cleaning a diatom sample, but before I start searching it. It sits there split into a drab heavy fraction with lovely snow-white frustules in separate test tubes. Tiny little packets of potential. But it's much like fishing (I imagine), where the initial anticipation is tempered by ensuing results. Sometimes better than expected but often not. Despite that, it's a moment I still enjoy every single time. The sample in the pic was finished 10 minutes ago. Contentment abounds, for now :D

So what favourite things do other PMN members have? Please feel free to post pics too, if you wish. Cheers.

Image

zzffnn
Posts: 1896
Joined: Thu May 22, 2014 1:25 pm
Location: Houston, Texas, USA
Contact:

Post by zzffnn »

I feel the same, when I am doing some cheap and crazy DIYs. I can still learn something, even when my DIY fails.

One of my crazy but successful DIY was modification of a Nikon Optiphot (with machine nuts, Legos and super glue) to use LOMO water apo objectives and Leitz Heine condenser. The Frankenstein scope now works beautifully and is highly resolving. Just looking at it makes me happy.

Another thing that I really enjoy is sharing microscopy with my sons.
Last edited by zzffnn on Sun Jun 18, 2017 8:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Selling my Canon FD 200mm F/2.8 lens

Grahame
Posts: 60
Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2014 11:36 pm
Location: New Zealand

Post by Grahame »

Me,
Crawling around in the mud and water, I have a passion for wetlands.
And turning over a log that has become an old friend over the years.
I've watched it decompose and seen the many forms of critters and cool fungi that its homed.
That half second as you turn it and see what treasures it holds today.

Len Willan
Posts: 111
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 9:52 pm
Location: Como West Sydney Australia
Contact:

Post by Len Willan »

Well-travelled Portable Macro Set up

This is the basic setup That I used in making the Website Australian Moths Online
http://www1.ala.org.au/gallery2/main.php
Over the last 15 years it has travelled countless times the 278 kilometres from home here at Como, to the Insect Collection in Canberra and backImage

JW
Posts: 249
Joined: Wed Feb 23, 2011 7:38 am
Location: New Haven, CT, USA

Post by JW »

Smashing large rocks into small bits - relieves stress :lol: and results in scraps small enough to fit under my binocular microscope, which permits screening for future photography, placement in the collection, or saved for trading. This usually exposes many microcrystals that otherwise would have been hidden from view, while running the risk of damaging the said crystals.

Best so far- smashing a pricey specimen of pyromorphite to reveal rare, never before photographed from the locality, microcrystals of leadhillite (imaging of such on my to-do list, but not done :roll: ).

Worst case - I can't remember the mineral (selective memory at work), nice microcrystal exposed on the surface of a 5" rock, thought there must be more inside. Managed to not only smash the crystal, but nothing else was recovered :cry: - but this only happens about 10% of the time.
It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see - Henry David Thoreau

Beatsy
Posts: 2105
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 3:10 am
Location: Malvern, UK

Post by Beatsy »

Your "smashing rocks" thing sounds right up my street JW. Like treasure hunting with commensurate ups and downs. Similar (but different) with diatomite, you never know if it's worth the hassle of cleaning it until you've cleaned it :)

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