Name: Marek Miś
Picture title: Batrachospermum Red Algae
Category: Micro
Nationality: Polish
Occupation: Biologist / Photographer

Marek:
‘I took a sample of Batrachospermum (a kind of red algae) from a small river in Wigry National Park, Poland. Although it has natural beauty, it doesn’t look great using bright-field illumination. However, by combining polarised light and darkfield techniques I managed to get a colourful and interesting picture.

It was challenging to show more than one or two “twigs” of algae, because even a 4x microscope objective shows too small a part. To capture it properly, I made a panorama consisting of nine images stitched together during post-processing. To expand the depth of field, which is very shallow using a microscope, each of the nine images consist of several frames combined in one output image in Helicon Focus. The final image is the result of combining more than 100 separate shots.’

Technical information:
Pentax K-1
Olympus 4X S-Plan Apochromat
1/5, ISO100
Accessories: Olympus BH-2 microscope
Post processing: Basic adjustments and panorama stitching in Photoshop. Helicon Focus to expand the depth of field.

Website:  mismicrophoto.com
Instagram: marekmisphotography__
Facebook:  Marek-Mis-Mikrofotografia