Commuting through the Microcosmos Ep.1

Oct 20, 2017 • 3:31 PM UTC

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Honomi

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Hello Foldscopers!
Do you take the bus or train to school/work/play? If you do, then what do you do to entertain yourself during your commute, especially when you’re traveling solo?
I take the public transportation to get around. Which means I have these pockets of time when I just stand and wait for my bus, train, metro…I notice that most people usually are on their phones, and I do that, too. (I also daydream and/or read a book.)
Then it occurred to me, “Hey, I could be Foldscoping!” So I took out my new Foldscope, attached it to my phone, and selected the “microscope slide of the day.”
On this particular day while I was waiting for my train, I wanted to learn more about Honeybees (Go pollinators!), so I placed a prepared slide of Honeybee front leg and started exploring.

As I was recording this, however, my thoughts drifted from honeybees. I noticed myself thinking more about the light source.
My light source was outdoor ambient light, and this was recorded just before sunset. Photographers call a period of time just after sunrise or before sunset the “golden hour” because pictures taken during these hours come out especially beautiful. It seems like this is true for Foldscoping. As you can see in the video, I had a very balanced lighting that gave the image good contrast and resolution.
Experimenting with light source has been on my mind ever since my friend Dina did a fantastic experimentation that resulted in a beautiful slide show (https://microcosmos.foldscope.com/?p=27747) I will do a separate post on how to create a slide show.
Learning how to optimize the light for Foldscoping may become a theme during my commute.
Keep exploring everyone.
~Honomi