Video: Who’s in the water? iPhone ‘microscope’ shows you Puget Sound creatures you’d never see otherwise

From the ever-creative “Diver Laura” James … a new idea for looking at who and what are in Puget Sound. She says it’s simple as pie to turn an iPhone into a microscope that’ll show you plankton and other micro-organisms in Puget Sound.

And there’s a reason she hopes you’ll look at the videos she’s creating with this rig, even if you don’t try to replicate it yourself:

My goal with these videos is to help show that every drop of our precious Puget Sound is alive, and when we pollute it, the stormwater is not going into just water, but flowing into and poisoning the homes of the foundation of our food web, and a nursery for so many baby critters that it boggles the mind.

See more of the plankton here:

And check out Laura’s YouTube playlist. She says she’s working on a “key” to help plankton viewers know exactly what they’re seeing, too.

9 Replies to "Video: Who's in the water? iPhone 'microscope' shows you Puget Sound creatures you'd never see otherwise"

  • CEA August 19, 2014 (7:50 pm)

    Wow….more amazing stuff from Diver Laura! Thank you for creating this video – it’s astonishing. I was out kayaking last weekend, and ever since I became aware of Laura’s work I’ve seen Puget Sound through a new set of eyes. It was a thrill to see every jellyfish and seal that passed my way, and also humbling to know how precarious life can be for them. Thanks, Laura, for making me more mindful and asking me to take steps to make a difference.

  • Sara August 19, 2014 (8:11 pm)

    LOVE this share! iPhones (and their apps) are amazing! Thank you! ;-)

  • Cathy jaramillo August 19, 2014 (8:23 pm)

    These are amazing! Thanks so much for sharing these.
    I hope this inspires many young aspiring scientist

  • Alice August 19, 2014 (8:31 pm)

    Yay Nature!
    Yay Science!
    I use this http://www.microphonelens.com/ $15, works on any phone-ish camera. So easy to carry around with me, love it for a quick 15x magnification: a good quick start for people.
    Disclosure: Santa Claus brought mine to me, so I got it free.

  • westseattledood August 19, 2014 (9:35 pm)

    Aren’t they beautiful!?! Nice!

  • Toni Reineke August 20, 2014 (8:29 am)

    Thank you, Laura, for showing us another side of West Seattle! And for the tip on the technology–amazing!

  • biankat August 20, 2014 (1:15 pm)

    very, very cool :)

  • Robert F August 20, 2014 (4:12 pm)

    Wow, I’m going to run out and buy an iPhone right away! How could I have been so foolish as to think I could live without one?

  • R Leverette August 22, 2014 (8:17 am)

    These images are an important way to celebrate Life on Earth = Mother Earth. Wm Blake wrote –
    Nature and Art in this together Suite
    What is most grand is Most Minute

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