Edward Austin
August 2026 - Salt Crystals
Anaglyph
About the Image(s)
This picture was taken using a method borrowed from paleontologists, who use it to photograph microfossils, with a standard microscope that has a single light path. I put a drop of glue on a glass slide and sprinkled table salt on it. Under 40x magnification I took one picture., then put a little shim under one end of the slide to tilt it, and took another picture, to make a stereo pair.
Each picture is a stack of about 20 frames using focus stacking software. The lighting is called darkfield; there is an opaque disc behind the subject so that the illumination comes from light that spills around the periphery.
9 comments posted
Andrew Parke
The technology you're using is amazing. Each eye is 20 exposures. Salt crystals. Amazing. Posted: 08/03/2026 04:09:36
I love the ethereal feel and colors. That said, the diffuse light has led to chromatic aberration, making it difficult to view. Subjects like this generally look best under single point source lighting. I t would be easier to view the depth in monochrome, but I do love the colors. Posted: 08/04/2026 05:45:59
Here it is in monochrome. Posted: 08/04/2026 05:58:29
Better, but the disparity is still there. The diffuse light causes too much scatter in the diffraction. Posted: 08/04/2026 14:10:58
I guess you are referring to those halos, or ghosts in the image. I take your point that they are distracting but I think they result from my sample preparation more than from the lighting. I tried it a gain with a slightly different process. This one is not flawless but I think I got rid of those issues. Posted: 08/04/2026 23:55:52
Yes. This is much more comfortable to view. Posted: 08/05/2026 00:51:20
Andrew Parke
Two thumbs up on this version. Posted: 08/16/2026 20:33:33
Far better Posted: 08/21/2026 07:18:10
A good micro-stereo image. Good texture of the crystals. Lots of overlapping forms and good depth of layers. To me, this looks like having chromatic aberration. I didn't find window violation. Your monochrome and revised images look better. Posted: 08/21/2026 07:27:16