Microphotography

I don't think I have ever thrown away anything that had a lens in it! As a result I have been able to come up with an amazing collection of "junk" that occasionally proves it's value. Some of the systems below were purchased (mostly at auctions) because I knew what I was getting, while others were just "in the junk pile".  Here is a description of my current active collection:

Nikon FS-2 bioscope

I probably take more photos with my "Slit Lamp" system than any other. It is a Nikon FS-2 bioscope that was part of a skid of obsolete optometry equipment. I stripped most of the slit lamp part of the hardware and made a sample table. My Nikon D80 attaches to the back and allows me to take photos at several magnifications.  The beauty of this system is that it can be used to take stereo pairs since the bioscope was designed to rotate about the focal point of the "sample".  the joystick system allows one to rapidly move in and out or to a different part of the sample.  It can take photos in the range 2x to 30x.

Nikon Alphaphot 2

This system is for high magnification work. When I acquired it I was taking a chance since it had been in a fire and was covered with black soot.  Originally it had a secondary viewing port so that it could be used in a "teacher-student" mode.  Since the secondary port was in bad shape I removed it and made an adapter so that my D80 will attach to the port using a T-adapter.  It can be used to take images up to 400x.

Nikon Model M Inverted Microscope

This is my "best" system in that it is a true research microscope designed for microphotography.  I managed to get it at an auction at a ridiculously low price (with all accessories and spare parts!).  While it was made in 1969 the optics and mechanical parts are in pristine condition.  It has a complete set of objectives and specialized accessories that I may (or may not) figure out how to use some day.

The Nikon D80 is attached to the "cine" port in the above picture using a t-adapter and standard eyepiece fitting.  The camera can also be placed on the trinocular head although I usually use a small CCD video camera on that port that can record to my computer.

These three systems are the "primary systems I use.  In a future blog I will describe some of my other less used systems and some general comments about microphotography.

Stereo photography (BPC Panorama Focus group)

Getting started in 3D Stereo photography is no longer difficult and can be done with with little or no investment (in both money and time!).  There is a dedicated group of enthusiasts who are developing the techniques and software, and with a little effort anyone with a digital camera and computer can generate fantastic images.

The software used by most of the 3D groups is "StereoPhoto Maker", written and maintained by Masuji Suto (I use hyperlinks here, so just click on the highlighted text above to go to a referenced url--use "shift" + click to open in a new window).  From the SPM site you will want to download and install the latest version of SPM (I suggest getting the version with the help file).  The latest version (as of this writing) is Ver4.21, released February 24, 2010.  You might want to bookmark this site since the software is being continuously updated.  The download is a zip file consisting of the help file (HTML) and the actual program, stphmkre.exe.  Place the latter on your desktop and simply double click its icon to start the program.

I suggest you also download the "SPM Beginner's Guide" which is a .pdf file that gives good "step-by-step" instructions. In order to get you started, I have uploaded images to Flickr for two 3D photos.  The first is the cemetery picture I shared during the January BPC photoshare.

You should be able to see this with the glasses handed out at the last focus group meeting. The left eye image, right eye image, and a side-by-side and color anaglyph are available to download from my Flickr site.*

Place the left and right eye images in a folder and start SPM.  Under "File" select "Open Left/Right Images".  Locate and select the left and right eye images and click "open".  If you then select "Adjust" and "Easy Adjustment" you will be able to fine-tune the two images so that they overlap nicely (actually little adjustment is needed for the cemetery photo since I used my "stereo camera".

Once you are satisfied that you can use the program try downloading the left eye and right eye images for the barn in my back yard.  This one is tricky!  I took it with my Nikon D80 (hand-held) and just moved over about 6 inches between the two shots.  I purposely tilted the camera for the second shot.  An additional problem is that there was a slight breeze, so the bird feeder has rotated between the two shots.  Thus, the resultant 3D image is terrible!  But--it does actually come out more or less OK.  Keep in mind that you have to rotate as well as translate in the "Quick Adjustment" window.  You will notice that I cropped the image.  It is difficult to focus because the two images are a bit too far apart (hyperstereo--not good for most shots!).  In any case the following is my version of the left-right stereo.  You can also download the anaglyph to see if you can see it.

There are all kinds of options and tricks to learn about taking and "processing" stereo photographs, but don't give up if you don't get the results you want immediately.  I really didn't know what I was doing (and some will say I still don't!) when I started, but I find the results very satisfying.  I admit I have an advantage since I spent much of my professional life looking at stereo images, so my eyes can adjust rapidly and I can "accommodate" many flaws.

Good luck and have fun!  If you have questions or need help just email me.
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* To download images from Flickr, click on the "ALL SIZES" button at the top left of the image and then click on "Download the Large size".