Stay Sharp, Pencil Pusher

These are closeups of a metal manual prism pencil sharpener. It's about an inch long. The photo above is a portion of the hole where the pencil goes in.

Below is a portion of the brand debossed into the metal body of the sharpener. I like the graphic look of the letters. Note how the very limited depth of field at this level of magnification crosses from the highest point inside the "g" topographically, to the lowest part of the "r" canyon floor. In other words, I can only keep details sharp if they are within about 1/2 a millimeter depth from the lens. This is one of the biggest challenges of shooting tiny things like this on such a micro scale.

The photo below is the sharpener blade. You can see microscopic bits of pencil lead and wax shavings leftover from a previous meal.

Send me your suggestions for something tiny that you'd like to see big.

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Assorted Stuff: Penny with Salt, 17 Pages, and Serrated

Here are some early pictures from my new lens, a Canon MP-E 65mm dedicated macro lens. So, how's it perform? I'm still getting used to it and changing around the way I use light in order to accommodate it, but I have a few photos I'm happy with already.

Above is an almost microscopic photo of a penny on which I had sprinkled salt. The magnification is somewhere between 8-10x life size (in my camera, making it much greater magnification here on your computer screen).

Below are 17 pages of a book, viewed on end. It was regular paper, not extra thick or anything... this new lens just allows me to get that close a photo. I'm a bit amazed.

Below the paper photo is a serrated edge of a knife, about one full serration (if that's a word). It was clean, so I'm guessing that those little crystals are simply some bit of soap or dishwasher solution that may have dried on the blade, crystallizing in the process.

Send me your ideas for tiny things to make big!

Send me your suggestions for something tiny that you'd like to see big.

buy this print

Visit MorningMacro at StudioSaynuk for more great images