Tip: See the World Through a Magnifying Glass
Tuesday 14 January 2025, 20:20 by Elvira Smit | 2,589 views | 0 commentsThis article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.
Three years ago, I was in class at the Fotoacademie. We were comparing the quality of our prints when a classmate pulled a magnifying glass from his pocket. Suddenly, we could see much more. I immediately decided to buy one too. I only bought it this year, and I am indeed as pleased with it as I thought I would be.
What can you see with a magnifying glass?
What you can see depends on the magnification of your magnifying glass. I have one with 10x magnification and a built-in light. That is useful, because you lose light when you hold your magnifying glass just above a photo.
But what can I see with it?
I like to hold my magnifying glass over prints in magazines. When I look at the photo with the naked eye, the dots seem to form one smooth image. The magnifying glass enlarges the dots, though, so I can see the individual colours and their pattern.
What I find incredible every time is that there are only 4 colours used for printing: cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK). This printing process uses halftone screens. Here is an example (source).
By placing the dots closer together or further apart, the illusion of different colours is created: smaller dots make lighter shades, while larger dots make darker shades.
This system is necessary because printing presses cannot create smooth colour gradients like a screen or inkjet printer can.
For anyone who wants to dive even deeper into this subject, the video below is interesting:
I now also use my magnifying glass for completely different things:
- closely inspecting the results of my printer's nozzle check
- looking at random objects during a woodland walk, such as leaves and twigs
- checking whether I have a splinter in my finger
In short, endless entertainment for less than 20 euros. 
About the author
Ik heb een eigen fotografieblog, Kronkeling. Daar schrijf ik om de week twee artikelen. Over hoe je je blik kunt scherpen, je creativiteit kunt aanwakkeren, en over fotografen die mij inspireren. Geen technische zaken, wél over hoe je leert kijken. En dat blijkt nog een hele klus. Een mooi startpunt zijn de Kronkeltips, die vind je hier.
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