Magnification: 400x, bright field (negative image), stacked image

Fundort / Site: Barbados Alter / Age: approx. 32-35 million years (late Eocene - early Oligocene)

Präparation / Preparation: Andreas Drews

Radiolarians are unicellulars of diameter 0.1–0.2 mm that produce intricate mineral skeletons, typically with a central capsule dividing the cell into the inner and outer portions of endoplasm and ectoplasm.The elaborate mineral skeleton is usually made of silica. They are found as zooplankton throughout the ocean, and their skeletal remains make up a large part of the cover of the ocean floor as siliceous ooze. Due to their rapid turn-over of species, they represent an important diagnostic fossil found from the Cambrian onwards. (Source: Wikipedia)

This is a stacked image, made by using a microscope and composed of dozens of single photos at different focus levels. For any information about stacking technique, please see: <a href="https://digital-photography-school.com/a-beginners-guide-to-focus-stacking/" rel="noreferrer nofollow">digital-photography-school.com/a-beginners-guide-to-focus...</a>

Dear friends and visitors, I have to tell you that I’m no longer updating my photostream at a regular rate. My last upload was some months ago and since then I even haven’t had time to thank you for your comments and faves. It was a pretty busy year for me and next year will be not any different. Over the last years, you’ve made my stream a real success by loads of faves and comments and invitations to groups and I’m very grateful for that. However, there came a time when coping with these social media activities put more and more a strain on me and I had to make a decision, i.e. whether I should either neglect my professional and private life or my flickr stream. On the other hand, I didn’t cease to take pictures (NEVER – just scrap it, dude) and actually, I like to show them to other people. So I’m now trying to establish such a thing as an, mhm, unsocial media agreement with you, and it goes like this: If you like one of my pics – thanx a lot, but don’t fave it and don’t comment on it. If you do it nevertheless, please don’t expect an answer or an reciprocal fave, because it might take months before I check my stream the next time and by then, my activities list will show nilch. I wish you the very best, and may the gods of light and art be yith you!