I discovered Gary Greenberg's microscopic sandscapes recently - what a revelation!

In his own words:

.... combines his passion for art and science by creating dramatic landscapes of hidden worlds. The secrets of nature are visible everywhere. Yet, they remain secrets until they are revealed. 

Greenberg has been using his special microscopes to create spectacular landscapes of worlds beyond our everyday perception - worlds where reality is seen as abstract form and color, motion and texture. 

For Greenberg, art as a doorway through which we can more deeply embrace nature. His mission is to reveal the secret beauty of the microscopic landscape that makes up our everyday world.

The miracles of nature are tangible, and they can be seen directly through the microscope. The magnificence of nature lies in its consciousness. When we commune with nature, we become conscious of our connection with the universe.

Originally a photographer and filmmaker, at the age of 33 he moved from Los Angeles to London to earn a Ph.D. in biomedical research from University College London. Dr. Greenberg was an Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California during the 1980’s. During the 1990’s he invented and developed high-definition, three-dimensional light microscopes, for which he was issued eighteen US patents.

Since 2001, Dr. Greenberg focuses his microscopes on common objects, such as grains of sand, flowers, and food. These everyday objects take on a new reality when magnified hundreds of times, revealing hidden and unexpected aspects of nature. Dr. Greenberg’s images of sand make us realize that as we walk along a beach we are strolling upon thousands of years of biological and geological history. Recently, Dr. Greenberg photographed moon sand returned from NASA’s Apollo 11 Mission.

http://www.sandgrains.com