Cast of a native sumac leaf

Images taken in a controlled environment or with a posed subject. All subject types.

Moderators: rjlittlefield, ChrisR, Chris S., Pau

colohank
Posts: 113
Joined: Sat Jul 24, 2021 6:07 pm
Location: Fruita, Colorado, USA

Cast of a native sumac leaf

Post by colohank »

Inspired by Ric's recent submission about the details of a geranium petal's cell margins, I decided to try the Bondic casting method for myself. For my trial subject, I chose a leaf from a native Fragrant Sumac (Rhus trilobata) growing in my western Colorado yard. The shrub is also popularly known as skunk-bush in recognition of the fetid odor it gives off when its twigs are rubbed or bruised.

I placed a drop of the liquid resin on top of the leaf and placed a clean microscope slide on it. After the drop had spread under the weight of the slide, I exposed it to UV light for about five seconds to cure the resin. Once the resin was set, I peeled off the leaf, and the Bondic cast of the leaf was ready for photography. Since the resin is essentially colorless, I chose to illuminate it with a compact LED panel that's adjustable for color and intensity. I dialed-in a yellowish-orange hue and positioned the light at a 45-degree angle from the front of the subject. The orange specks on the image are probably bits of stuff on the leaf that adhered to the curing resin, pollen grains, perhaps. The actual leaf I duplicated is the one at upper left in accompanying photo.

I'm astonished that the cast seems to capture every nuance of the leaf's surface. I'm equally amazed that the leaf peeled off so easily, because the hardened resin sticks to the slide like grim death. My conclusion: the method works, it's easy, and it opens up yet another way of seeing things, not only for the experts, but for neophytes like me.

About 8X using a Nikon D810 and Nikon Plan 10X infinity microscope objective with Raynox DCR-150 on a Nikon PB-6 bellows.
Attachments
DSH_4996a (Custom).jpg
IMG_1132 (Custom).jpg

Post Reply Previous topicNext topic