Microscopic Images Unveil the Remarkable Complexity of the Tiny World

Inside a drawstring bag, you’ll find equipment like bug nets, tweezers, and small plastic vials. This may seem unusual for a photographer, but for Michael Benson, it’s just part of his routine. He dedicated over six years to gathering specimens for his latest publication, Nanocosmos: A Journey Through Electronic Space, a collection showcasing the microscopic realm in exquisite detail.

“I’m fascinated by the boundary between known and unknown territories—an area often linked to science,” he shares. “However, I approach it as an artist, not a scientist.”

That didn’t deter Benson from utilizing tools typically reserved for physicists and biologists. He produced all images for Nanocosmos using a formidable scanning electron microscope (SEM). This advanced technique employs a highly focused electron beam to intricately map surface contours. The resulting images portray submillimeter objects with such clarity that they appear almost extraterrestrial.

Take, for instance, the Acilidae musbifolia (as seen in the main image) alongside a flowering plant in Alberta, Canada. Even together, they span only slightly more than 1 cm. But with SEM technology, we can observe nearly every hair on the fly’s body, each claw on its legs, and even some of the countless individual receptors forming its bulging eyes.

Benson first utilized SEM in 2013 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab. “Learning to master SEM was challenging, requiring several years of practice,” he notes. Every specimen must be coated with “a molecularly thin layer of platinum to prevent charging by the electron beam,” and meticulously dried to maintain surface details.

The image above showcases the wing feathers of the eastern pontaka dragonfly (Erythemis simplicicollis), captured from beneath at the wing tip. This species is found across the eastern two-thirds of the United States, as well as in southern Ontario and Quebec, Canada. The wings are about 3 mm wide.

Below are images of single-celled marine organisms, specifically Hexalonche philosophica, collected from the equatorial region of the Pacific Ocean, measuring just 0.2 millimeters from tip to tip.

Another marine specimen, Ornithocercus magnificus (featured below), is a type of plankton discovered in the Gulf Stream off Florida’s coast, measuring approximately 0.1 mm in width.

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