Danny J. Sanchez

Happy #EarthDay2016

Today was really tough. Prince's music is really really really important to me. I used to be a gigging musician and his music was always something I could call on for strength and inspiration. I'm sad today but he left us all such a wonderfully overwhelming body of work. It will continue to bring me joy for the rest of my life. 💜🎸💜 So here's a big, fucking, purple phallic negative crystal ready to rock. I know he'd love it.

We all hide. Opal, mexico. field of view 3mm (A photomicrograph is an image taken with the aid of a microscope. Not to be confused with microphotography, which is photography using very small equipment.)

some things are too strange and they’re beyond my skills to explain - so i just photograph them. opal. jalisco, mexico. fov = 3mm.

This material is truly special.  Ilmenite and hematite in orthoclase feldspar from Harts Range, Australia. Field of view = 3mm.

Getting to the shot. This is a fraction of the test shots it takes before I commit to a lighting environment. 

A Close Thing. 3mm field of view inside #opal from Jalisco, Mexico. White #rhyolite matrix added pleasure and pain to this photo.  The working title for this one was Valhalnilla.  

Abduction.  Field of view = 3.05mm  Opal, Jalisco, Mexico

Orthoclase feldspar with ilmenite and hematite inclusions. This material is only found in Mud Tank, Hartz Range, Northern Territory, Australia. The field of view on this video is 3mm. This is technically a stop motion of a single "focus stack". There are 264 photos, each separated by 0.025 mm of movement. This means, you're watching the camera move through 6.6mm of depth in this video.

Video of a piece, temporarily called Ucalegon. The colors shift but the host is still. Opal, Jalisco, Mexico. Field of view  2mm

Shifting Perspective. After many many passes at this stone, it relented and gave me this beautiful, climbing vista. Opal.  Jalisco, Mexico.  Field of view = 3.05 (vertically)

I revisited an old friend. It was an exciting reunion. Opal in rhyolite with limonite after hornblende. Jalisco, Mexico. Field of view 3.05mm

True things. Opal. Magdalena, Jalisco, Mexico. 3.05mm filed of view.

Going back through my older photos and making these (short) videos is pretty great.  It reminds me of how I was feeling when I set up the shot and all the things I was trying to light. Love it.

Short but sweet. I've been working on this image and it's killing me so I decided to take a break and#animate it! What you're seeing is all the different focal points I'm utilizing in this image. The movements are called "steps" and in this case the distance between the steps is 0.025mm or 25 microns. Oh, and the field of view is 2mm. (This is a relatively short stack of images at 64)

I've been spending the weekend auditioning #opals. These are all single shots, testing all kinds of stuff. SUCH a drag, bro. (An integral part of the process though)

This is not a dream, it’s a photograph taken through the microscope - a #photomicrograph. The subject is a Mexican opal with a rhyolitic matrix. You’re seeing 3.05mm in width in this photo. If you were to look through my microscope at this opal and light it just so, this is what you’d see. -Danny