10-9 meter =0,000000001 meter = 1 nanometer

Light is a form of electromagnetic energy with an approximate wavelength of between 400 and 700 nanometers. It is thanks to light that we can convert objects into images, which forms the basis for one of the main ways humans have of learning about the world and interacting with it. If seeing is knowing, then light is one of the languages of knowledge.

The 10-9 project is a voyage into the microscopic world of everyday life, a search for another kind of beauty, invisible to the eye but no less real. Technique and the perceptive power of optical and photographic devices here act as an open window to another reality, a vision of “the beyond” that as it takes shape as images reveals the enormity of the small.

10-9 is an invitation to walk among biological samples, to dive into the depths of inorganic matter and to fly over the landscapes of vegetable tissues. Welcome to the nanoworld.

Roger Grasas, Barcelona 2016

The photographs in 10-9 were taken using an interference contrast photomicroscope with the Nomarski lighting technique.  The samples were photographed using an enlargement scale factor of between 2000x and 6000x. 

The images were not digitally manipulated: their coloring is the result of the optical tint caused by the interference of the light as it refracted through each sample. 

Air bubbles immersed in tap water

Photomicrograph at 3500 magnifications (1999)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print 90×120 cms

Edition of 5

Table salt grain

Photomicrograph at 2000 magnifications (1999)

Bright lighting

Chromogenic print 90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Nelly hairspray of Sasha R Gregor grandmother 

Photomicrograph at 2000 magnifications (1998)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print 90×105 cms

Edition of 5

Crystals of Tetenal photographic fixer 

Photomicrograph at 3000 magnifications (1998)

Polarised lighting

Chromogenic print 60×90 cms 

Edition of 5

Brown sugar

Photomicrograph at 2000 magnifications (1999)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print 90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Plástico de bolígrafo Bic rojo

Photomicrograph at 2400 magnifications (1999)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print  90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Spores colony in a bottle of wine

Photomicrograph at 2400 magnifications (1999)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print 120×150 cms

Edition of 5

Epidermis, right hand of Sasha R Gregor

Photomicrograph at 2000 magnifications (1999)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print 120×150 cms 

Edition of 5

Liquid glue

Photomicrograph at 2000 magnifications (1999)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print 90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Insecticide

Photomicrograph at 2000 magnifications (1999)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print 90×105 cms

Edition of 5

Leaf of blue agave cactus 

Photomicrograph at 2000 magnifications (1999)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print 90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Wing of fly

Photomicrograph at 4000 magnifications (1999)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print 90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Fingerprint, left thumb of  Sasha R.Gregor 

Photomicrograph at 6000 magnifications (1998)

Darkfield lighting

Chromogenic print  120×150 cms 

Edition of 5

Camelia leaf section

Photomicrograph at 2000 magnifications (1999)

Bright lighting

Chromogenic print 90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Plancton in stagnant water 

Photomicrograph at 5000 magnifications (1999)

Darkfield lighting

Chromogenic print 90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Stem section of blackberry 

Photomicrograph at 2000 magnifications (1999)

Polarised lighting

Chromogenic print 90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Worker bee wing

Photomicrograph at 2000 magnifications (1999)

Chromogenic print 

90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Feathers of a bird called Angela (Taeniopygia guttata) 

Photomicrograph at 500 magnifications (1999)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print 120×150 cms 

Edition of 5

Compact bone of Chihuahua dog

Photomicrograph at 2400 magnifications (1999)

Brightfield lighting

Chromogenic print  90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Diatomea

Photomicrograph at 2400 magnifications (1999)

Brightfield lighting

Chromogenic print  90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Section of plant (Malva Aegyptia) 

Photomicrograph at 5000 magnifications (1998)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print 90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Pumpkin steam

Photomicrograph at 2000 magnifications (1999)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print 90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Feather of bird

Photomicrograph at 2000 magnifications (1999)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print 90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Silver berry scaly hair

Photomicrograph at 2000 magnifications (1999)

Nomarsky interferential contrast lighting

Chromogenic print 90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Mouse skin from La Garrotxa

Photomicrograph at 2400 magnifications (1999)

Brightfield lighting

Chromogenic print  90×90 cms

Edition of 5

Pine tree leaf of Sasha R Gregor’s garden

Photomicrograph at 2400 magnifications (1999)

Brightfield lighting

Chromogenic print  90×90 cms

Edition of 5