From Camera to Microscope

From 17 May to 7 June 2010, students from the BA(Hons) Marine and Natural History Photography course at University College Falmouth will be presenting a very unusual exhibition of work at Trebah Garden, near Falmouth.

The focus of this course is to study habitate and species in the local area developing a wide range of skills to produce extensive portfolios.

First-year students spent several days in January at Trebah visiting six specific sites as part of their microscopy project. Microscopy is the study of plant structures through the use of a microscope and then using photographic techniques to take pictures of these images. The students study habitats and species in the local area developing a wide range of skills to produce extensive portfolios.

The result is a stunning exhibition of work at Planters Cafe that allows the viewer to see these plants in extreme, but aesthetically beautiful, detail.

The six sites in the garden that the first-year students focused on are The Stumpery, The Gunnera Passage, The Beach, The Bamboozle, Mediterranean Area/Visitor Centre and The Chilean Coomb. These students who were learning how to take photographs using different types of microscopes chose these six areas to samples from after a guided tour with Trebah's Head Gardener, Darren Dickey. They took these samples back to the laboratory, prepared them and observed them using microscopes.

As part of this exhibition, Trebah hopes that funding can be found to sponsor the best of those images taken from the six sites around the garden to be displayed as site-specific interpretation panels at each site, allowing visitors to take the exhibition into the garden and gain further insight into the students' work. There is also a desire to create a garden trail, providing even further information about the plants, their history, environment and biological profile.

Ruby Wood, one of the students who will be exhibiting, said of the experience:

"Trebah is diverse with spectacular flora and vast areas that could be used for samples. Whichever site was chosen for sampling, it was full of objects suitable for examining under the microscope. The project increased my knowledge of plant structures and the use of the microscope for photographic purposes."

There is a close link between University College Falmouth and Trebah Garden, where for many years students from a variety of courses have been able to use Trebah as their ‘living classroom'. Nigel Burnett, Director of Trebah says:

"We are very excited to have an exhibition as thought-provoking as this one, with such a diverse range of subject matter and material. We have been working on several projects with different degree courses at UCF and we cherish the excellent working relationship we have between our two organisations. We think our visitors to Trebah will gain a very different perspective from this exhibition and hopefully come away with the feeling that Trebah is so much more than just a garden."

Supported by:

ENDS

Further information includes:

• The Marine and Natural History Photography BA(Hons) course offers a unique opportunity to study marine and terrestrial wildlife in one of Britain's most beautiful areas.
• The course's first cohort of students will graduate in June 2010. 
• Trebah Garden lies within one of Cornwall's Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 

Further quotes from students:

"Trebah is a photographer's paradise, heaven for flower photography. It gives a real Cornish insight into nature with the view down to the Helford and showcases what is best about Cornwall. The microscopy project gave a detailed look at what the naked eye does not see and it was really interesting to find other things that we couldn't see without the microscopes". Gracie Street -  first-year student

Other 1^st year student general quotes include:

"coming to Trebah has been the best part of the course so far"

"seeing Trebah with the mist over Gunnera Passage was just magical"

"things look completely different down the microscope"

"When we came in January there were few other visitors, but they were all interested in what the students were doing and were interested to see what the pictures would look like" Margaret Upton, Course Lecturer.

Note to Editors: For further information please do not hesitate to contact: Claire Vickers, Marketing & PR Manager, Trebah Garden on: 01326 252200 or email: claire@trebah-garden.co.uk

For further information about University College Falmouth, please visit http://www.falmouth.ac.uk/

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