Unexpected Worlds with Steve Gschmeissner
Steve Gschmeissner is one of the world’s leading scanning electron microscopists. Meet a highly skilled professional using a wonderfully realistic microscopic technique.
Steve has a passion for capturing the beauty of hidden worlds through his microscope. From a very young age, he had a love of natural history, which led him to pursue a degree in zoology.
His first job in the anatomy department of the Royal College of Surgeons gave him a great introduction to all forms of microscopy. He later honed his skills in the Electron Microscopy department at Cancer Research UK. An ordinary meeting with SPL was the beginning of an extraordinary career. The perfect blend of Steve’s talent and SPL’s experience resulted in a stunning body of work used globally and in new and imaginative ways.?
Steve’s images are created using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), which uses an electron beam to scan the surface of a specimen. Electrons are emitted and reflected from the surface and gathered by a detector to build a spectacular black-and-white image. Colour is added digitally, greatly enhancing the value of the image and making it infinitely more attractive to both editorial and commercial clients.
The distinction between science and art is not that important to Steve, what is important is that he still finds great joy and pleasure in creating new work.