Nearly Gigapixel Rocks - Manually Imaged

[kengel]

Here are a bunch of different rocks under the microscope. Descriptions for each one are provided after each image. Greetings from New Zealand!

Please feel free to ask any questions!

Mylonite from the Alpine Fault, New Zealand.
Cross polarised + quartz plate image
Field of view = 7mm

Microcline from Ytterby, Sweden.
Cross polarised image
Field of view = 11mm

Granophyric intergrowth, locality unknown.
Cross polarised + quartz plate image
Field of view = 11mm

Olivine Gabbro, locality unknown.
Cross polarised image
Field of view = 13mm

[rjlittlefield]

Very nice!

Can we get links to larger versions, perhaps hosted with a zooming viewer?

--Rik

[kengel]

Sadly I only post them to instagram and 500px. Feel free to check them out though

500px.com/thorphotosnz

[rjlittlefield]

So then I'm curious...

I assume it takes you some fair bit of time and trouble to make these nearly gigapixel images.

What makes the effort worthwhile? Do you display large prints somewhere? Or are you in this for the journey, not the destination?

--Rik

[kengel]

It's for the satisfaction of seeing the end result mostly! I do some gallery displays but nothing crazy. I guess it's also kind of meditative in a sense!

[rjlittlefield]

Personal satisfaction is a powerful force!

One of my favorite images is a stack-and-stitch, something like 1500 source frames merged to make a 55 megapixel image from a 6.3 megapixel camera.

These days the image appears far most frequently as my avatar, reduced to a 63x69 pixels GIF.

I do enjoy the print on my wall, though.

--Rik