Small quantities of Tartaric Acid, Citric Acid and Malic Acid were mixed together with 20ml of water. A thin layer of the solution was spread on microscope slides and allowed to air dry for 24-hours. The slides were tilted length wise to help create a very thin layer at the high end. On some slides where the solution was very thin, a few delicate and fragile crystals formed representing the shapes of flowers and plant branches with "petals & leaves". At the low end the solution was too thick and unusable crystal blobs and spikes formed.

The usable crystals were photographed with a home made polarized light microscope and a piece of cellophane sheet acting as a retarder to produce colour in the crystals. Without the retarder the crystals appear in black&white because the thickness corresponds to first-order interference colours (around 0-0.6 microns thick). Crystals start to show "natural" colours if they are thicker than 0.6 microns.

This crystal was photographed in two sections at 20x magnification. The two photos were then stitched together to obtain a high resolution image of the crystal. Using an FX sensor, 20x magnification has a field of view of a mere 1.79mmx1.195mm. This crystal is thus shorter than 3.58mm.

The retarder changed the background colour to blue. Using Zoner Photo Studio X's magic wand, masks, layers and paintbrush the background was replaced with a white background. This emphasises the delicate and fragile beauty of the crystal. Colour, contrast and sharpness were also enhanced. Bits and pieces of distracting crystals were removed as well.