My chat with a Diatom

billporter1456 · Post by **billporter1456** » Wed Mar 19, 2014 4:44 pm

While watching a diatom moving around on a slide, I tried to imagine what it would be like to have a conversation with this little one-celled organism. This video is a light-hearted attempt to display what that conversation might have been like. I'm far from being an expert on diatoms, but I did try to put in a few educational tidbits. I hope you enjoy it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHwX81hjhyc

Sumguy01 · Post by **Sumguy01** » Thu Mar 20, 2014 8:22 pm

quote=Cheap chinese lens

Bill you have a great sense of humor.
You make me laugh.
Thanks for sharing
Keep it up.
Enjoy the ride.

rjlittlefield · Post by **rjlittlefield** » Thu Mar 20, 2014 9:40 pm

Normally I don't spend a lot of time watching videos, but I stayed with this one all the way through.

Those 100X images are excellent, the educational tidbits were very nice, and I'm still mulling over that bit about "the way up and the way down are one and the same". It does seem very Zen-like, despite preceding Zen by several hundred years...

--Rik

Litonotus · Post by **Litonotus** » Thu Mar 20, 2014 10:54 pm

I usually- don't watch videos too, it is time consuming (;

But this one is great: funny, educational, and beautiful (: great!

Chris S. · Post by **Chris S.** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 12:24 am

Loved it, Bill! (And I don't spend much time on videos either, normally.)

--Chris

arturoag75 · Post by **arturoag75** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 1:43 am

Very nice

René · Post by **René** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 2:23 am

LOL, thanks Bill!

René

shrek · Post by **shrek** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 4:05 am

Excellent

jp

carlos.uruguay · Post by **carlos.uruguay** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 6:05 am

Excellent

KDan · Post by **KDan** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 7:16 am

Hi Bill,

diatoms actually led me to the microscope. When I first saw them at the age of fourteen, I was caught.

Your video brought to my photomicrography another dimension. So far, I've never record the video through a microscope, but your "Conversation with a Diatom" inspired me to give it a try.

Thanks!

Karel

PS: What equipment do you use to shoot the video?

billporter1456 · Post by **billporter1456** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 10:43 am

To those of you who responded with kind and complimentary words, I sincerely appreciate your comments! I have been a fan of this site since coming across it a few months ago and continue to marvel at the images displayed herein. While I don’t expect that I will ever develop the technical expertise or acquire the equipment to produce comparable images, I do enjoy the challenge of making little videos that have educational and/or amusement value.

billporter1456 · Post by **billporter1456** » Fri Mar 21, 2014 10:51 am

KDan wrote:Hi Bill,

diatoms actually led me to the microscope. When I first saw them at the age of fourteen, I was caught.

Your video brought to my photomicrography another dimension. So far, I've never record the video through a microscope, but your "Conversation with a Diatom" inspired me to give it a try.

Thanks!

Karel

PS: What equipment do you use to shoot the video?

Yes, there is something compelling about watching one of the larger diatoms cruising slowly across the slide. I was using the 40X and 100X objectives from an Omax scope (inexpensive Chinese scope), but they were mounted on a Nikon Labophot stand. Illumination was by a homemade LED setup. If you decide to try making a video, I'd be happy to offer whatever help I can based on my few months of doing this.

By the way, perhaps you can answer a question about a photo of a diatom I took just yesterday. Is the dark roundish object near the very center of the cell the nucleus? Here's a link to the pic:

http://billporter.smugmug.com/Microscop ... X-s-X2.jpg

Ecki · Post by **Ecki** » Sun Mar 23, 2014 7:18 am

Nice idea, well done.

RogelioMoreno · Post by **RogelioMoreno** » Mon Mar 24, 2014 7:38 am

Very nice, congratulations!

Rogelio

KDan · Post by **KDan** » Fri Mar 28, 2014 7:34 am

billporter1456 wrote:Yes, there is something compelling about watching one of the larger diatoms cruising slowly across the slide. I was using the 40X and 100X objectives from an Omax scope (inexpensive Chinese scope), but they were mounted on a Nikon Labophot stand. Illumination was by a homemade LED setup. If you decide to try making a video, I'd be happy to offer whatever help I can based on my few months of doing this.

By the way, perhaps you can answer a question about a photo of a diatom I took just yesterday. Is the dark roundish object near the very center of the cell the nucleus? Here's a link to the pic:

http://billporter.smugmug.com/Microscop ... X-s-X2.jpg

Hi Bill,

sorry for the somewhat late response. Thanks for your offer of assistance.

I'm no expert, just an amateur - although the size and location match, I've never seen the nucleus of this contrast in living diatom.

Karel

My chat with a Diatom

My chat with a Diatom

Thank you very much for your comments!