Great Video about Diatoms

Video - The Diatomist on Vimeo

The Diatomist

from Matthew Killip PLUS 6 months ago ALL AUDIENCES

THE DIATOMIST is a short documentary about Klaus Kemp, master of the Victorian art of diatom arrangement.

Diatoms are single cell algae that create jewel-like glass shells around themselves. Microscopists of the Victorian era would arrange them into complex patterns, invisible to the naked eye but spectacular when viewed under magnification.The best of these arrangements are stunning technical feats that reveal the hidden grandeur of some of the smallest organisms on Earth. Klaus Kemp has devoted his entire life to understanding and perfecting diatom arrangement and he is now acknowledged as the last great practitioner of this beautiful combination of art and science. THE DIATOMIST showcases his incredible work.

Soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Bernard Herrmann and Cults Percussion Ensemble.

MATTHEW KILLIP is an English filmmaker living in New York. His documentaries have been broadcast on UK television and exhibited in festivals including Sundance and True/False.

Short Video of Pennate Diatom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBAcksaRwy4&feature=player_embedded

This big [about 0.2-mm long] golden diatom was in a sample from a Heron’s Head Park Salt Marsh Pond, San Francisco Bay. Shots were taken with a Swift FM-31 Field Microscope at 400X using a Nikon Coolpix 885 Digital Camera. Diatoms are algae in a glass case – the two shells that enclose a diatom are made of silicon. Algae are plants, so Diatoms get their energy and manufacture sugars from the sunlight and CO2. They also frequently move with a slow, but steady motion. Diatoms evolved at about the same time as mammals, so they are relative newcomers.