Honorable Mention
It Came From Atlantis
DESCRIPTION
I am interested in using crystals and the microscope to create "captured lightning". The central figure was one of the first translucent crystals I had grown that had that effect. I also like photographing at the edge of the cover slip to give an idea of a water's surface or mirror.Translucency, colour and glass-like textures are all of interest to me.
It is intended to give a sense of magic as if an ancient technology of great power has arisen from the sea.
In a way this piece might be considered a landscape, but of course it is no such thing and the viewer's imagination to see whatever they see is very much part of the artwork.
It is made by taking several thousand photographs of crystals of picric acid, acid fuchsin and alanine (an amino acid) at 200 magnification with polarised light microscope photography.
These were image stacked to create 51 images. These were then stitched together. Building the composition is time consuming (about 50 hours in this case) but a labour of love.
AUTHOR
I'm a Cambridge based secondary (high school) teacher and photographer.I explore texture, colour, perspective, light, shade and translucency using mineral, vegetable and animal matter prepared with skill for the microscope and camera.
Most of my pieces first involve preparation of a slide, which can take can take several days of technical work involving staining and lab equipment. Microscopes have a very limited focus depth and small field of view. I create compositions by taking hundreds or thousands of photographs together with focus stacking and stitching, both algorithmic and manual.
I use a variety of lighting techniques, quite often utilising polarised light.
There are wonderful visions of abstract beauty hidden from view and my goal is to compose these and bring them to colourful light.
