There are many aspects that I enjoy with this hobby - from the satisfaction of operating precision instruments, the aesthetic beauty of micro-photography and videography - where depth of field and focal lengths create a sense of dimension that draws you into the picture, to research and investigating, web design and development.

I also marvel at the grandeur and intricate brilliance that emanates from the natural world around us - all pointing to a wonderful and marvelous Creator God who not only has created but has also gifted this world to humanity as its caretakers.

Enjoy

Introduction / A little of my Theolosophy*

I have often thought about eternity - probably because I am a minister :-)    However, I have always thought of infinity ( ∞ ) as expanding (As Buzz would say, 'To infinity and beyond!'), as moving outward through time and space (even though this does conflict at times with my theological beliefs) . In fact, the word infinity is Latin for without boundaries or limit. But then I got thinking, if something can be eternally large and increasing, then surely it can also be eternally minute and decreasing. We know this to be true in math, as many a child has had fun asking another to write down the largest number possible - both increasing (+) or decreasing (-), and having done this, the child simply places another zero on the end. However, as humans, we judge size by our own reality and comparison to it. Typically, we tend to think we are the center of the universe - and that the perspective and ratio of size must be in comparison to our own size or understanding of it! In an attempt to solve this puzzle, science has documented the smallest possible size or value in quantum physics, known as the Planck Length, and they relate this to the size of the origin of the Big Bang theory. However, my difficulty with this theory, is in what lies beyond or behind the boundaries that contains the universe? If the universe is expanding, then what is it expanding into? (Saying it expands into itself is a bit of a cop-out in my opinion.) Where did this original element come from, and if we were to travel to the extremes of the universe either expanding or decreasing and found the edge, perhaps even a brick wall - what is over the wall?  ( I understand that these exact questions can be asked of religion and God - i.e. where did God come from, and what is beyond God.) And - how do we know or not know that the element that supposedly produced our universe - isn't the size of a grain of sand on a beach that exists beyond and outside our own reality? This is starting to sound a little like the Dr Sues book Horton Hears A Who, where Horton the Elephant hears voices while drinking from a pond. The voices come from a spec of sand that turns out being a planet inhabited by minute people called the Whos.

Another media that is based around life both minute and large in our universe, are the movies and television series Star-Trek that has sparked an interest in many grown men to seek out new life and civilizations. As a child, I used to think that the Martian life scientists search for on distant planets were similar to that seen on the Star-Trek movies. What I soon realized was that the real search and interest was for water, because within just one drop of water, a whole eco-system can exist, sometimes multiple systems, hosts dependant upon or within hosts.         Thinking about all of the above, I began a journey to seek out new life and civilizations within my own world, even within my own back-yard. What I found was just as interesting as Martian life - with the most amazing and interesting life forms - from the smallest animals in the world  - Rotifera - at only 150µm to 250µm ( micrometers), to Microbes, Protozoans and Living Algae.  Literally dozens of life forms can be found in a spec of water the size of a full-stop ( . ), with complete ecosystems and life cycles evolving, ending and beginning within minutes - right in front of your eyes.