Born in Dublin, I am a passionate physicist by nature having studied in DIT and UCD. I had my first real encounter with science when I was a young child, maybe 6 years old, I witnessed in the Burren, County Clare, a sky filled with stars. I think this is the most awe inspiring experience that one can have to develop a passion for science. At around the same time, I received a toy microscope set that came with prepared samples like cross-sections of plants and materials. However, seeing a droplet of pond water was an epiphany for me which led me down the path of physics and biology.

It is only in the past ten years that I have been able to pursue my life passion to a very serious level. I have built an imaging laboratory at my home with a suite of state-of-the-art optical microscopes and I am privilaged to have access to the most powerful modern research grade microscopes.

My main area of interest is in developing techniques for photomicrography of pond life, botanical subjects and thin crystalline films. They allow me to capture inspiring photography of hidden worlds from both a scientific and artistic perspective and show them to others to communicate the beauty of science and the microcosm.

The kinds of microscopes I use for my photomicrography are scanning electron microscopes (SEM), helium ion beam microscopes (HIM) and optical microscopes, specifically the Olympus BX51. With the BX, I apply various techniques such as the standard bright field in transmission and reflection modes, oblique illumination, darkfield, differential interference contrast (DIC), Rheinberg illumination and polarised light. You can see some of my work in my gallery page.