Diatom from vacuum cleaner

Diatoms from vaccuum cleaner filter. 70X Brightfield technique. These photos were taken with a Lomo microscope and Lomo Darkfield condenser. Camera was Canon A40 using the remote capture program.

Below photo  from specimen taken at Dunkirk, MD. Random “strew” in water. Taken using 10x WF eyepiece and 10x achromat on LOMO microscope. Darkfield effect  using phase contrast 100x stop. Colors are result of natural polarization by the diatoms.

Dunkirk, Maryland diatoms in oblique lighting

Dunkirk, MD Diatoms

Used Canon A40 digital camera. Photo cropped to eliminate vignetting, without re-sizing.  Slight addition of sharpening. Slide made and photo taken 4/10/03.

with 60x Oil Objective with Iris

60x objective with oil

Oamaru New Zealand Diatom

Oamaru New Zealand Diatom

Terrebonne, Oregon Diatoms

Radnor, PA Diatom in Oblique Illumination

Want more information on oblique illumination? Check out my Rheinberg Filter page at: Rheinberg Filters

Dunkirk, Maryland diatoms in oblique lighting

Below are  more examples of oblique lighting. Simply put, the light from below is set slightly off center, and the angular beam casts a shadow. this makes the specimen stand out in stark relief against the background. A very easy technique to do, you can even use special filters to assist. See my Rheinberg Filters page (link above).  

Newport, CA diatom in Oblique Illumination