Collinswood Designs - Microscopic Art

I like to think of myself as an explorer. Using the tools of science, I search the seemingly limitless realm of the very small in search of the beautiful and bizarre, the rare and unique, capturing with specialized cameras those scenes which appeal to me in some personal way. My approach is much like that of a skilled nature photographer. I seek to discover and preserve a precious tiny slice of the world for you and I both to enjoy. It must of course be true to nature. But while I take great pride in discovering some scientific oddity, or achieving some feat of photo-technical prowess, I am most of all drawn to those images which in some way also touch the heart. Like the Victorian craftsman, it is the work of hand, heart, and mind. The microscopic world can amuse us by its inferiority in size, yet strangely humble us by its grandeur. It can arouse our curiosity, and lead us to new shapes and color patterns never considered. A most fitting land for the artist to explore.

Because of our unfamiliarity with this world, we may have a hard time making perfect sense of what we are seeing. We mortals have never seen these images before. No two people see such images in exactly the same way. While one person may find an image inviting and comforting, another may find it disturbing in some indefinable way. Let them be a playground for our minds, providing raw materials for our imaginations to do their best work. In a way, my work depends upon what you the viewer bring to the experience!!

Thomas Balla