Geraniums

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Astrophil
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Geraniums

Post by Astrophil »

Hi,

My wife grows geraniums in planters around the yard. I wait for the rain and clouds to clear so to image the Sun. That wasn’t going to happen any time soon so I turned the scope toward the flowers. The rain, wind, and lack of sunlight resulted in a rather dismal image. I retrieved a flower blown off by the wind and took it inside for a closer look. Knowing little about the structure of flowers other than color and size, I was quite impressed by what I saw. The delicate structures and magnificent colors were amazing.

I looked up the names of common structures and now know the difference between an anther and stigma. There is a spherical, emerald colored structure nestled in with the yellow pollen that I could not identify. It must be important because there’s only one. Closeup images were taken using a stereo microscope and Grasshopper color camera. Focus stacking was used to increase depth of field.

Phil
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Montana
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Re: Geraniums

Post by Montana »

Wow!! these are incredible, I have never looked at a flower so closely. The petals glitter and the pollen grains are amazing!

I think the round green ball at the base is the ovary https://moodle.beverleyhigh.net/mod/res ... hp?id=6147
I wish I had a microscope at home :)

Alexandra


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Re: Geraniums

Post by rsfoto »

Hi,

Inredible close up images :shock:


regards Rainer

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Re: Geraniums

Post by Carbon60 »

Nature at its most beautiful. Very nice.

Stu.


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Re: Geraniums

Post by MapleRidge »

Nice closeups Phil!!!

I use a microscope to diagnose disease and insect issues on crops, always amazing to see the details. I would agree with Alexandra on the ovary being the structure in the pics.

Brian


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Re: Geraniums

Post by Astrophil »

Thanks for the kind comments and help identifying the parts. These were my first photos taken with a microscope and the journey into the geranium was fascinating. The colors were an unexpected treat.
Here is another colorful shot from a neighbor’s flower.

Phil
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Re: Geraniums

Post by Montana »

Wow! that is exquisite :bow what microscope do you have?

Alexandra


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Re: Geraniums

Post by JochenM »

Those are some great closeup shots, Phil. Very nice!


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Re: Geraniums

Post by Astrophil »

Alexandra, the microscope used for these photos is referred to as a zoom stereo microscope of the Greenough type. This type may not be the best for high quality imaging but it came with a c-mount and my Grasshopper cameras attached easily. Great 3D views through the eyepiece.

Phil
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Re: Geraniums

Post by p_zetner »

These are great macro shots, Phil.

Do you take the series of photos for stacking by hand adjustment of focusing or is it automated / motorized?

Your series of images at the start of the post reminds me of the old film “Powers of Ten” as they zoomed into a picnicker’s hand, ultimately down to nuclear scales! I know your scale change is not quite as dramatic but it was pretty cool to watch way back in the 1970s. https://aeon.co/videos/the-classic-197 ... erspective

Cheers.
Peter


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Re: Geraniums

Post by Astrophil »

Thanks for the comment and link, Peter. I remember that video from long ago. Very cool back then.
So far I focus by hand, anywhere from 5 to 50 in a stack depending on depth. Helicon software has worked well for me.

Phil


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Re: Geraniums

Post by MapleRidge »

Hi Phil...

The for the pic with the microscope and camera !!!

Brian


Brian Colville

Maple Ridge Observatory
Cambray, ON Canada

Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/185395281@N08/albums

10'x15 Roll-off Roof Observatory
Takahashi EM400 Mount carrying:
C14 + Lunt 80ED
Deep Sky Work - ASI294MM Pro+EFW 7x36/Canon 60D (Ha mod), ONAG
Planetary Work - SBIG CFW10, ASI462MM

2.2m Diameter Dome
iOptron CEM70G Mount carrying:
Orion EON 130ED, f7 OTA for Day & Night Use
Ha Setup: Lunt LS80PT/LS75FHa/B1200Ha + Home Brew Lunt Double Stack/B1800Ha on the Orion OTA + Daystar Quantum
WL, G-Band & CaK Setup: Lunt Wedge & Lunt B1800CaK, Baader K-Line and Altair 2nm G-Band filter
ASI1600MM, ASI432MM, ASI294MM Pro, ASI174MM, ASI462MM
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