For about 45 years, I have been studying and collecting microminerals, while working as a professor of biochemistry and immunology at the medical centers of the University of Colorado and the University of Tennessee. I am now retired, and so I have more time to photograph and write about my collection. My favorite type of specimen is a larger rock featuring a variety of microminerals. My primary criterion for collecting is aesthetics. Over the years, by good luck and with some skill at looking at tiny crystals, I have acquired a number of specimens that, although small, might be among the best of their species. I have attempted to improve my photography to adequately represent these specimens. However, I have a long way to go to approach the skill of the great Mindat photographers. Photographers, like Stephan Wolfsried, Yaiba Sakaguchi and many others, open up new worlds of beauty. With superb skill, sophisticated equipment, and stacking software, these photographers show us visions that we cannot see just by looking through a microscope.

I currently write a monthly column for The Mineral Mite, the newsletter of the Micromineralogists of the National Capital Area (MNCA). Presently, my column features photographs of some of my uranium minerals along with descriptive information about their localities. The Mineral Mite, including recent back issues, can be downloaded at http://dcmicrominerals.org Five of my pictures appear on the home page of the website. (The Pyragyrite is self-collected.)

I also have some photos on the Shenandoah Valley Gem and Mineral Society website:
http://www.shenandoahvalleyrockclub.org/links_resources/interest_groups/microminerals/microminerals_gallery.html (The right-angle filiform Pyrite is self-collected.)

Although I am still not satisfied with my photographs, I will upload some pictures to Mindat, because I believe that these specimens should be documented. I hope that Mindat users will enjoy the photos, and overlook their faults.