Today’s gif shows the crystallization of cobalt, copper and sodium chlorides after being dissolved, shot in time lapse and filmed at 5x magnification. The video was shot by Jay McClellan of Saranac, Michigan and composed with image stacking. It won an honorable mention in Nikon’s 2025 “Small World in Motion” competition.
Yes, you are noticing a theme this week! We are looking at the world in miniature, those everyday things that occur on a micro level that we relatively large humans don’t see or even stop to consider very often. There are wonderful happenings right under our very noses that we might miss were it not for the seekers of tiny truths and their powerful instruments that let us peer into the world of the very small.
On that theme, check out the winning Close-Up Photographer of the Year Awards for 2026, published in the Guardian over the weekend. The winning entry shows the inside of a cauliflower soft coral from Indonesia. It’s gorgeous!
Cauliflower coral can be found in the Indo-Pacific and Pacific oceans. This coral lives in shallow reef environments, colored tan, green or pink. Their color is comes from algae that the coral polyp grows within its tissue. A pink cauliflower coral is growing pink algae within its tissue and a green cauliflower coral is growing green algae. Their polyps have tentacles, usually only visible at night, which they use to ensnare tiny prey.
Cauliflower coral is a member of the Pocilloporid family. Pocilloporids are known for their long larval duration, which they can delay until they find a suitable landing spot. They can drift and survive in plankton for up to several weeks or can raft on drifting debris. This allows them to colonize remote reef areas, early settlers in newly created, far-flung volcanic reef areas. The ability to survive a long journey has given cauliflower coral the means to colonize the remote Hawaiian Island chain several million years ago, providing a foothold for many other fish and marine life that followed.
There are such beautiful patterns to be found in both animal and mineral realms.
You can find the source for today’s gif here with a segment that also includes the dissolving of the crystals.
Wikipedia: Pocillopora meandrina
Hawaii Wildlife Fund: Reef creature feature: Cauliflower coral (Pocillopora meandrina)
Lovely. Thank you.
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