This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
I can't help myself. I take a lot of pictures using my macro lenses on my Olloclip for iPhone. Leaves, snow, thistles and teasels, rocks and skin. The Olloclip company makes a number of slide-on lenses for smartphones, and a few months ago my wife got me the 4-in-1 Olloclip as gadget-based medicine for my theatrical mid-life crisis attacks. The 4-in-one includes a Fisheye, Wide-angle, 10x macro and 15x macro.
So I thought I would share my obsession with Symbiartic readers by sharing this photos of two of my trilobite paintings taken with the 15x macro lens. The 10x macro usually makes for prettier pictures of flowers and nature, in my experience dabbling around. But I love the impractical and wild close-ups of the 15x lens.
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First, my Goldeneye Trilobite oil painting on canvas, which currently hangs in our living room:
Next, my Flying Trilobite Fossil II, oil on shale, kept in our curio cabinet:
Weird little landscapes and textures. The feeling I get looking at my own paintings this way is like the fascination with looking at an x-ray of your own body. If you're interested in seeing more Olloclip pics before investing in one, check out the #olloclip hashtag on Instagram or Olloclip's own Instagram account.
Are any other science illustrators who read this using an Olloclip? If so, drop me an email at theflyingtrilobite on Gmail or a message on Twitter @FlyingTrilobite - I have an idea for a future Symbiartic post collecting some pics along a certain theme! ;-)