Greetings!

[Pat Thielen]

Hello everyone,

I just joined the forum here after reading quite a few posts last night. I am very impressed with the people here and how open you are with suggestions, instruction, helpful hints, etc. It really is just the place I've been looking for.

I'm very much an amateur microbiologist, in fact, so much so that I cannot compare myself to actual amateurs. I've been interested in microbiology since high school, but haven't done much with it since. My parents bought me a Swift Nintey-Eleven microscope and I spend hours examining pond water under it and identified quite a few species of protozoans. And then I went off to university and pretty much forgot about it until just over a year ago when I decided to start photographing micro-organisms and other very small things. In order to do this, I found the microscope I needed (after doing quite a bit of research) and started experimenting with it. So far I haven't gotten anything amazing as I'm still trudging up the learning curve. But it has been a lot of fun rediscovering what had fascinated me so long ago.

My microscopes are a Trinocular Motic BA310 with the Phase Contrast / Darkfield condenser, an American Optics model 40 stereoscope, and my old Swift Eleven-Ninety. With the Motic I'm able to photograph with it using my Nikon D810 dslr and I even shot my first video not too long ago of the seemingly elusive tardigrade. I'm still learning and so my attempts at photography are nothing compared to what I've seen here. But this forum gives me a lot of ideas and inspiration -- I'm very happy I discovered it.


-Pat

[gekko]

Welcome, Pat, to the forum. I think you got excellent equipment, and, by my definition, you are a true amateur microscopist. I, for one, look forward to your future posts, images, and videos.

[zzffnn]

Welcome to the forum, Pat.

I think your story is more common among forum members.

Mine is quite different (backwards?). I had not touched a microscope until my university time. Then I went into (human pathgenic) microbiology for graduate school. I used some good microscopes in my research work, but really developed my true interest in microscopy about 2 years ago.

Nonetheless, we all ended up here and enjoy each other's company!

[JimT]

Pat, let me add my warm welcome.

[Pat Thielen]

Thanks for all the welcomes -- I really do appreciate it. I look forward to being inspired by what I see here and learning a ton of stuff.

As an amateur photographer my joke was always like "I wonder what other expensive hobby I can get myself into and use my camera." Scuba diving came to mind right away, but there aren't many places to dive in Minnesota. And then remembering my past I had it: Microscopy! So, here I am! And yeah, it is another expensive hobby to be sure!

My experience I would say is spotty at best; there are quite a few holes to fill. But I also think that's part of the fun. For instance, I've never used an oil immersion lens before (my Swift has a 43x objective as its strongest and it isn't oil immersion). So, I've been a bit scared of it. I have a friend who is a microbiologist who is going to stop over and give me some practical lessons and advice once she has time. And, I don't have anything to look at that small just yet. At some point I'd like to try photographing bacteria, which will obviously need the oil immersion 100x objective. Right now its protozoa, rotifers and hopefully more water bears. And I'm also going to try to shoot a stacked image of pollen one of these days.

I'm very happy I've been able to rediscover microbiology and that I've discovered this group.

[rabitt]

Welcome from another amateur, will be looking for your future posts.