Using an electron microscope, British photographer and artist Rob Kesseler has photographed plant samples such as pollen, seeds, fruit and leaves, to create an extensive series of images called Phytopia that lie somewhere between science and symbolism.

The samples are spluttered with a fine coating of gold and photographed on a scanning electron microscope. The images are then re-mastered using subtle washes and layers of colour to enhance the forms and reveal the plant sample’s complex and fragile structure.

For more information, Kesseler’s website directs readers to the downloadable article A New Phytopia published in infocus Magazine issue 10 June 2008 reproduced by kind permission of the Royal Microscopical Society.

- A.Morris