WGCG Spring 2021 Newsletter - Flipbook - Page 13
WGCG
Spring 2021 Newsletter
The photomicroscopy suite
One of the most remarkable features of the Castle Bank Biota is the small size of many of the creatures it
contains, and their exquisitely fine detail. To illustrate material like this at the level required for publication
requires advanced photomicroscopy equipment, as is found in university palaeontology departments.
However, we work largely as amateurs (being professional palaeontologists only when in China, usually for
three months per year), with very ordinary levels of income. In short, we just can't afford what we need.
This year, therefore, together with the Castle Bank site's owner, we launched a crowdfunding campaign to
purchase a research-grade photomicroscope system. https://gofund.me/1a9df7a7. The response has been
truly extraordinary, and we've been overwhelmed by the generosity of around 200 donors, reaching a total
of around £15000—including the Holloway Bursary. The campaign hasn't reached the initial target (a top-ofthe-range Leica M205 with all the trimmings), but in some ways this has forced us into a better solution: an
S8APO with a superb camera, combined with an M125 C with camera lucida (drawing tube). These
microscopes (and especially the M125) need multiple components to optimise their functionality, such as
objectives, light sources (including a cross-polarising ring light), and eyepieces to increase magnification.
In contrast to hobby microscopes, these instruments eliminate chromatic aberration and spherical
aberration in order to generate sharp, undistorted images. The polarising ring light allows us to cancel
reflections and highlight areas that reflect light in the same polarisation—an extremely powerful tool. The
camera lucida allows us to draw accurate representations of fossils using all the lighting combinations
available, condensing and simplifying all the available information into one image. The equipment is probably
the best that we've ever had everyday access to.
It's not just for us, though. Part of the rationale of the campaign was to make these tools available to anyone
who needs them, but particularly for amateur scientists across Wales and the Midlands. We have an
electronic engineer next door, for example, and a mineralogist in the next town, neither of whom can afford
this type of equipment. This opens a new world of possibility for many amateur scientists—ourselves
included. We hope it will help in the renaissance of amateur science in the region and look forward to helping
others to make the most of their discoveries!
Elements of the
photomicroscopy suite.
Joe attaching the
HiChrome camera
and computer
system to the
Leica S8APO
the fully
operational Leica
M125 C with
camera lucida.
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