Abalone shell (was: An easy "what is it")

[Charles Krebs]

I was going to label this as to the subject, but then wondered how obvious or obscure it is. So I'll post it as a "quiz" but expect a very quick correct ID.

Top two 50X, last three 20X.

[JH]

Very nice and interesting! IF this is what i think I have to spend the weekend looking closer at some insects that I have in the freezer.
Best regards
Jörgen Hellberg

[ChrisR]

Buprestidae?

[Jacek]

some fabric ?

[Charles Krebs]

Buprestidae?

I thought of jewel beetles often when photographing this. Similar lines and (in some places) colors. But that's not it.

Something all of us have likely seen, handled and admired... but not at these magnifications.

[Saul]

Mother-of-pearl ?

[Charles Krebs]

Mother-of-pearl ?

Yes! In this case the interior surface of an abalone shell.

[Saul]

Mother-of-pearl ?

Yes! In this case the interior surface of an abalone shell.

Very nice photos ! Can you share technical details/technique ?

[WalterD]

Excellent set The contour effect in the high magnification photos is very interesting.

[Charles Krebs]

Very nice photos ! Can you share technical details/technique ?

I used a white plastic dome with some LED lights I made (not the Ikea light seen in the picture. The Ikeas are great, but for me not enough light output when using a 50/0.50 objective when heavily diffused):



You need pretty good all around diffusion to get the iridescence to show. But I left the entire shell intact, so there large light areas just outside of the pictured areas that caused a bit too much flare. So it required some post-processing to tame that.

With a dome like this you can actually get decently directional light as was needed to bring out the contour lines. Don't blast the whole thing all around with broad light sources, but put a compact light source up close and at a low angle against the dome. Play around with the light locations and angles an you can get very different effects.

[razashaikh]

Very colorful and interesting.

[Pau]

Incredible!, I was about to say something like topographic map of an exoplanet

Was the shell polished? or with its natural surface?

[Saul]

...I used a white plastic dome ...

Is this dome more transparent than wiffle ball ? Who is supplier ?

Thanks,

[Charles Krebs]

Saul,
This particular dome was half of a clear plastic Christmas ball "ornament" purchased from Michaels (hobby arts and crafts). It come in two sections so people can fill it with their own decorations. Here I have very slightly spray painted the inside surface with a matte white paint. (Very light paint application, spray can held farther away than normally used. It appears much more "solid white" in this picture than it really is). This one does transmit more light than a whiffle ball, just depends on the paint job. These are cheap (but they don't carry them year round) so you can get a few and practice until you get it just right. Hardest part is cutting the hole without breaking it.

Pau,
Inside surface. I don't believe it was polished, but I did scrub it down with a toothbrush to clear out loose particles and other gunk.

[vasselle]

Bonjour
Magnifiques images j'adore.
Cordialement seb