2019 Photomicrography Competition

Artboard 1

16th Place

2019 Photomicrography Competition

Housefly compound eye pattern

Dr. Razvan Cornel Constantin

Location
Bucharest, Romania
Technique

Focus Stacking, Reflected Light

Magnifaction
50x (Objective Lens Magnification)

Flies look at the world in quite a different way than we do. Their eyes are made up of thousands of individual visual receptors called ommatidia, each of which is a functioning eye in itself. Therefore, a fly’s vision is comparable to a mosaic, with thousands of tiny images that converge together to represent one large visual image. The more ommatidia a compound eye contains, the clearer the image it creates.

A fly’s eyes are immobile, but their position and spherical shape give the fly an almost 360-degree view of its surroundings. Fly eyes have no pupils and cannot control how much light enters the eye or focus the images. Flies are also short-sighted — with a visible range of a few yards, and have limited color vision (for example, they don’t discern between yellow and white).

On the other hand, a fly’s vision is especially good at picking up form and movement. Because a fly can easily see motion but not necessarily what the moving object is, they are quick to flee, even if it is harmless.

In Their Own Words

A Q&A with Nikon Small World winner Dr. Razvan Cornel Constantin.

What is the subject matter of your winning image and why did you choose this image?

It is a closeup of a housefly decaying eye. The image doesn’t just show the structure of a compound eye but also what happens when the eye dries and the individual “cells” start to change color. It’s always a challenge to shoot at high magnification, and I thought this is a result worth sharing. The pattern is also very photogenic.

What are the special techniques and/or challenges faced in creating this photomicrograph?

For this picture I used focus stacking, which is challenging at high magnification because of the vibration of the camera and the rest of the equipment. At 50:1 the working distance is small for reflected light, so getting enough light onto the subject is always a struggle. Also, getting it diffused in such a way that the individual lenses on the eye reflect it in a pleasing way without losing detail was tricky.

What is your primary line of work?

I make my living as an automotive engineer, but when I get home and pick up my camera, that’s when the job stops and the passion begins.

How long have you been taking photographs through a microscope? What first sparked your interest in photomicrography?

I’ve been using microscopes for almost four years, gradually increasing the magnification as I got more experienced. I’ve always had a passion for wildlife, especially insects. As soon as I could afford it, I got a camera and macro lens. While shooting macro you always crave for more magnification and that’s why I got into photomicrography.

Do you tend to focus your microscopy toward a specific subject matter or theme? If so, why?

I can’t say that I have a specific subject, I find that almost any subject has at least a few interesting poses when put under a microscope at high magnification. As long as you can’t see it with the naked eye you always get that wow factor.