The Translucent Beauty of the Moss Plant

Walter Piorkowski · Post by **Walter Piorkowski** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 9:09 pm

Top image:
Horizontal FOV 5mm
Canon 10D
Canon 20mm macro @ f/3.5 on extension tubes
Series of 113 images @ .001 inch increments
Diffused dual fiber optic illumination
Combine ZM, Photoshop

Middle image:
Horizontal FOV 2.5mm
Canon 10D
Canon 20mm macro @ f/3.5 on extension tubes
Series of 154 images @ .0005 inch increments
Diffused dual fiber optic illumination
Combine ZM, Photoshop

Bottom Image:
Horizontal FOV 8.0mm
Canon 10D
Canon 35mm macro @ f/4 on extension tubes
Series of 79 images @ .001inch increments
Diffused dual fiber optic illumination
Combine ZM, Photoshop

I have always enjoyed observing moss in the field and have spent considerable time over the years attempting to identify various species. I do not know which one I have here but it seems quite common. I have applied some of my myxo studio techniques to this subject and found these results pleasing enough to share with you all. I don’t know what the source of the white ghosts are in the middle image but they don’t spoil this very deep stack to badly.

Walt

JoanYoung · Post by **JoanYoung** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 10:42 pm

These are terrific images Walt!!

Dearis · Post by **Dearis** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 12:58 am

Hi Walter,

these are wonderful, tell me have you put the soft affect to them or is that how they are?

Regards Darren

Bruce Williams · Post by **Bruce Williams** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 2:29 am

These results have an almost glass-like beauty. Very definitely worth all the hard work you've put in to producing these stacked images.

A difficult subject I imagine.

Bruce

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 2:38 am

I too find these plants to be quite interesting at times but mainly for the life that lives among them, tiny arachnids mostly and occasional yellow globular springtails. Nice images Walt.

Walter Piorkowski · Post by **Walter Piorkowski** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 11:37 am

Thank you Joan.

Hello Darren. I am not certain what you mean by “the soft affect’ but if you mean some sort of image processing I try to keep that to a minimum. Maybe an Auto level and then mostly some sharpening. What you see is what they look like especially with some back lighting.

Hi Bruce. Yes, they are a difficult subject. Very shinny and almost transparent. The most difficult problem though is like the myxos. They react so quickly to environmental conditions that their shape will change in a matter of minutes. You have to maintain a level of humidity at all times to record with the camera the same features you saw in the field.

With your keen interest Ken in the small inhabitants of these plants you may have already applied a little more magnification to see nematodes and rotifers. There is a new subject (at least to me) that you may find of interest, the tardigrades or water bears that inhabit the mosses and lichen. Have you seen them? Check out a neat article on them in “The Explorers Journal” Summer, 2007.

Walt

Dearis · Post by **Dearis** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 1:23 pm

Hi Walter,

they seem so have a glow about them almost irredecent

Regards Darren

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Mon Oct 22, 2007 7:57 pm

Walt, I feel your pain about "...their shape will change in a matter of minutes."

I have shot numerous stacks that turned out to be short time-lapse movies, "A Study In Wilting", utterly useless for their intended purpose!

The images you've posted here, on the other hand, are simply gorgeous.

Thanks for sharing!

--Rik

Ken Ramos · Post by **Ken Ramos** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 2:25 am

Walt wrote:

With your keen interest Ken in the small inhabitants of these plants you may have already applied a little more magnification to see nematodes and rotifers. There is a new subject (at least to me) that you may find of interest, the tardigrades or water bears that inhabit the mosses and lichen. Have you seen them? Check out a neat article on them in “The Explorers Journal” Summer, 2007.

Can't say as if I have seen any waterbears or rotifers there Walt, most of my observations have been through the dissecting microscope, where I have seen only tiny beetles, springtails and mites. Oh yeah and an occassional tiny spider or two. The Explores Journal? Can't say as I have heard of it but I will check it out.

beetleman · Post by **beetleman** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:24 pm

Like little flower jewels

. Emerald crystals with lace. Beautiful images Walt, I have never seen the texture like that.

salden · Post by **salden** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:42 pm

It does look like a glass statue. Beautiful.