Water, water everywhere hobby?

[cpsTN]

I have been pursuing Microscopy for only about a year. Is it just me or does the microscopy hobby seem to be all water-based viewing? With only a couple of exceptions, and those where using Stereo scopes, everything I seem to read about here are found in water or by adding water to some other material. I feel like I'm in training to become Aquaman. lol
Are there any books or online text- or video-based resources on the basics of pursuing this hobby that may open it up to me?

[lorez]

About anything you pick up can be looked at with a microscope of one sort or another. Google an area of interest and see what comes up.

lorez

[Charles]

I think the main reason you see more water based samples because they are easier to view without much preparations. For non-water based samples, you would need to prepare by clearing, fixing, dissecting, staining, mounting etc. A lot more work than just putting a drop of water on a slide with coverslip.

[JimT]

CpsTN, when I started I went to the local library and checked out all their books. Unfortunately most are written for kids but I still was able to learn a few things.

Then I went on line and found other books and articles that added to my (still limited) knowledge. This site provides lots of good info and if you search the topic you are interested in you will find lots more info. Great thing about this hobby is we all continue to learn.

JimT

[lorez]

you would need to prepare by clearing, fixing, dissecting, staining, mounting etc.

Not necessarily. I look at all sorts of things and don't mount anything. Of course, I don't always see the internal aspects, but there is so much to see on the outside there has never been a shortage of something new to see.

lorez

[Charles]

Granted you can plot a lot of things on a slide without prep work as long as they are small and very thin. But for anything which is not micro thin is hard to view under a microscope. Try putting a bee under a coverslip without prep or dissection or a fly, mosquito or even a flea. You put things like these under a coverslip without proper preparation and you end up with bodies misforming and fluids squishing out. Got to appreciate the Victorian era slides where their whole mounts are spectacular but involved a lot of work.

[KurtM]

I like the question. Let's hear ideas for non-aquatic subjects for the amateur microscopist! I'll start.

First is a subject I find very fascinating indeed: pollen. And we're not far from spring, when there'll be more to sample than you have time for. Think about what pollen is, and what it does, and you're just about guaranteed to find it at least interesting...

Sand. Ever heard of the word 'arenophile'? I'm one. Google "sand collecting" , and you'll see there's even a sand collecting Facebook page! Examining sand led me empirically to foraminifera, and if you don't know what forams are, Google it and I promise you'll feed your brain a treat. Sand begs for simple POL, of course.

Moth, butterfly, and mosquito scales. You'll know exactly what that dust is when you smush a skeeter or blitty.

I thought about crystals in POL, and diatoms since most of mine are permanent slides mounted in Pleurax and Zrax, but I guess either comes from water so I won't mention them. And I'm sure I'm just not thinking of other "dry land" subjects I love to mess around with, but I hope this gets a ball rolling...

[lorez]

Try putting a bee under a coverslip

Why would I do that when I have a couple of good stereo microscopes? I've looked at all the things Kurt mentioned as well as a few more. One of my favorites are lichens. They are beautiful specimens and can be easily observed in their natural state with a stereo microscope. Sand is another favorite because of the beautiful results when using polarized light. I have a stereo microscope (B&L 7) with polarized light that is great for sand and other minerals. especially micro mounts.

lorez

[mrsonchus]

Hi Charles S,

Well, as others have said, microscopy seems to be very much 'interest-driven' by an initial area that you may enjoy and find that you'd like to look at more closely. This in my case happened with my love of wild-flowers (UK) which developed into an interest and enjoyment of their identification, then their differences & similarities, then closer scrutiny eventually led me to the world of microscopy!
What do you find particularly fascinating or just plain enjoyable to ponder? Subjects vary hugely in their essential properties, some are naturally 'wet' or course, others not, many (very many) are easier and more effectively viewed aided by the presence of liquids, often water.
Not only does water itself on account of it's physical properties greatly aid many forms of examination, especially the property of a high surface-tension, but for tiny organisms, both flora & fauna, it's the medium in which they exist and thrive of course.

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but it's probably easier to 'get into' microscopy with ideas of subjects in mind before rather than after deciding to invest time and money in a 'scope. My advice would be to start with what genuinely interests you, regardless of what at any time seems to be most popular with others, as this will have a large influence on which type of microscope you find most useful and above all rewarding to own and use.

Keep everything simple at first, it sounds like the dullest piece of advice anyone has ever given, but it is absolutely the case that microscopy is able to frustrate and disappoint as easily as delight and stimulate at first - always set goals that have a high chance of being successful as you begin as you'll quickly enter into a 'feedback' of success-enjoyment-inspiration-exploration-success... if you begin in this manner.
This forum is your biggest leap forward - it's a superb place to be inspired, delighted or to just plain enjoy the company of like-minded folk who just happen to be kind, friendly, helpful and very talented in all manner of areas. Also we're all learning as we go, and the levels of experience here cover the full range, we all started just the same way you have and like nothing more than the arrival of interested and interesting folk like yourself.
Ask yourself 'what catches my eye?' rather than 'what shall I look at?' - it doesn't have to be something tiny of course, for example I started with pictures of wild flowers on an embarrassingly-primitive mobile (cell?) 'phone and now I'm peering at their tiniest structures such as leaf cross-sections and their truly microscopic cells etc...
If I had a particular recommendation it would be to look at as many articles and posts here to see what interests you subject-wise, something will soon start you thinking...

Go to it Charles - we'll all be coming along too!

[Dale]

What great replies, thanks for posting the question. It leads me to asking Lorez how he
achieves pol lighting on his stereoscope, and would it fit a Stereozoom? Sounds as
though I should follow the advice I'm getting and add pol equipment to my proposed
new scope.

[Charles]

Try putting a bee under a coverslip

Why would I do that when I have a couple of good stereo microscopes?
lorez

Well, because I believe cpsTN was asking about compound scopes and not stereo, in his first post.

[lorez]

It leads me to asking Lorez how he
achieves pol lighting on his stereoscope, and would it fit a Stereozoom?

The addition of polarizing accessories started with a project for the state fisheries where they needed to identify the veliger larva of the invasive zebra mussel and the microscope they were using was a B&L StereoZoom 4 (Model BVB-73).

I modified the transmitted light base to use an LED and put pol film on the under side of the stage glass. I modified a lens protector to have the other pol film. That provided a polarizer below and above the specimen. Since we had a definite goal the design was to meet the goal.

Although it is a simple polarizer it works very well.

I did the same thing with the my BVB-1070 with minor modifications to meet the design differences between the two pods.

I am working on the addition of a wave plate so I have a little more latitude.

I am a big fan of polarized light and with the ease of using simple materials there is no reason one could not come up with an economical system.

lorez

[charlie g]

Terrific thread you gave us, Charles S, thank you! I suggest you visit a few recent Microbe Hunter magazine articles, visit a few Micscape magazine articles. You will sample all sorts of microscopy world views in these 'zines.

Microfossiles in beach sands, in ancient beach sands, microcrystals in stream bank, stream bed clays...beehive paper structure, different species of spiders web observation under pol lighting...fresh web vrs web that is days old...is there difference...just what tiny particles (if any) do long standing web lines ensnare (if any). Your fungi spores are so easy to dust on a slide...you'll appreciate your 100X oil-objective. Hairs/fur from area critters, pigmentation varieties in bird feathers..and just how 'crisp' are the design borders on a given feather...think of 'ink jet printed image'.

Thanks to einman talking of spiders recently in threads..I intend to observe spider web strands this growth season'16!

Lots of microscopy world views beyond water...please peruse the magazines I just suggested, for actual images/ for actual techniques ( thank you John B for the forum lab tutorials...I'm thinking microtome this year!). charlie guevara

[billbillt]

I am a big fan of polarized light and with the ease of using simple materials there is no reason one could not come up with an economical system.

lorez

I also love polarized lighting using DIY materials and methods...
BillT

[Dale]

Lorez, can either film be rotated? I ask cause I no longer have a glass plate, it was replaced by stage. The
stage has a large hole and no slide hardware. The objective has the 2X aux lens, so if I rotate a pol film
under the 2X I will be ok?
cpsTN, I also just got back into this wonderful pastime. I found after a year of examining everything
under the sun I was really more interested in some things than others. Now I am able to read, and
understand more detailed articles on how to better view those subjects.
Dale

[lorez]

Lorez, can either film be rotated?

Yes, it's a matter of convenience. We opted for the lower filter on our project because it was simply easier. Your circumstances may dictate otherwise. Ingenuity and the "Spirit of the Wild Turkey" will be your guide...

lorez