Fish are colorful, bright creatures. Like almost all beings in nature, the colors of fish aren’t really markers of their anatomy. Dyed fish in the works of Professor Adam Summers have dyes running around bodies of the marine animals, clearly marking several anatomical structures.
Beautiful as the results may appear, the process itself does not sound like a particularly pleasing sight. Summers makes use of two dyes, alcian blue to stain cartilaginous elements and alizarin red to turn tissue a shade of crimson. For these dyes to have their full effect, colors from the fish need to be removed. This is achieved by lightly bleaching the specimen to remove dark pigments. Once completed, this process leaves behind a white, somewhat transparent fish.
Vibrant colors of the dyes can now easily be seen through the skin, as they color the bones and tissue of the marine animals. Images are captured when the sample is fully submerged in glycerin, with a color corrected LED light providing illumination.
Via Adam Summers, designboom
