Macro photographs with the Zeiss Touit 50mm f/2.8 lens on a Fuji X-T1

Two optical marvels -- the first microscope by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek and the Zeiss Touit 50mm macro lens on a Fuji X-T1. We've come a long way from the 1600's. 

There are few macro lenses I have ever used that are as good as the Zeiss Touit 50mm f/2.8 I use on my Fuji X-T1. Sometimes I just take the lens out to play with it in really tight on small objects like those below. The illumination here is nothing more than back lighting from a late afternoon window and a couple of candles thrown in for accent. In post processing with Adobe Camera Raw I applied the Classic Chrome or Pro Neg Hi profiles for all the images to give them a starker look.

An antique bronze cross from eastern Europe photographed at f/2.8 to throw the background candles our of focus. 

This is a replica of the first microscope made by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in the late 1600's. It had a tiny, spherical lens held between two brass plates.

  

A 19th century tintype portrait in a gutta persha case.