Magnified between 100-400 times, this video piece by science artist Danielle Parsons reveals the intricate beauty of freshwater pond organisms and fragmented plant structures, collected from an urban water feature. The bright pink backdrop and unexpected, refracted colors emerge from the orthogonal pathways of light through a full wave retardation plate, transforming an ordinary pond sample into a surreal microcosmic world. Accompanied by analog synth compositions by Johnny Woods.

Unlike the typical flattened specimens prepared on standard microscope slides, this piece was filmed in a well slide—a shallow indentation that creates a miniature pond within the frame. This setup allows the life forms to move more naturally, gliding and stretching, interacting with their surroundings and revealing their behavior and connections in ways that feel intimate and authentic.

The intention behind editing a meditative piece is to value these microorganisms in their natural surroundings, one perhaps not so different from ours. Analogous to human life in an active neighborhood, these microorganisms participate within their own communities, fulfilling essential tasks, exploring, and engaging in moments of what might be play. Photosynthesizing plants and algae release oxygen, creating an additional link between the microscopic and macroscopic worlds that is invisible and generous.

Through patient observation, the piece highlights pleasing geometries of plant matter and deliberate, rhythmic movements of single-celled and multicellular organisms. Among them are 1000-cell rotifers, paramecium, euplotes, stentors, vorticella, spirogyra, diatoms, and daphnia. The fantastical palette heightens the “otherness” of the microscopic realm, and celebrates nature’s resilience and adaptability to human-built environments, such as the concrete water feature from which I drew this sample. Viewers enter a vibrant microcosm hidden in plain sight, and hopefully emerge refreshed with a new perspective on the interconnectedness of life and nested realities of scale.