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A close-up of a variety of small seashells, pebbles and fragments of sea glass. The colourful pieces are scattered across a dark, contrasting background.

These are photos of grains of sand, magnified by Dr Gary Greenberg

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Date
23 January 2014

I’ll give you a minute to compose yourself and scroll around this webpage like it’s the best day of your life. Once you’re done losing your shit about how cool this is (it’s SAND) we can then tell you that this is the work of scientist Dr Gary Greenberg whose work has led him to being a world expert on all things tiny and beautiful.

Some of Gary’s bio is really informative about his colourful scientific career, some of it is downright awe-inspiring; “he worked on the first Superman film where he transformed human pancreatic cancer cells into the planet Kyrpton.” Go on, Gary! Go to his site to see which other miracles of nature he has squeezed under his lens and transformed into beautiful images that remind you just how spectacular the world is. I highly recommend the food section.

A collection of small, colourful sea glass fragments, pebbles and shells scattered across a black background. The pieces vary in shape and hue, including frosted whites, amber yellows and a single pink striped shell.
Above

Gary Greenberg: Sand Grains

A collection of diverse sea glass and weathered shells scattered across a black background. The fragments vary in size, shape and colour, including shades of frosted white, pale blue, yellow and deep red.
Above

Gary Greenberg: Sand Grains

A collection of diverse sand grains and mineral fragments shown in extreme close-up against a black background. The fragments vary in shape and colour, including a curved white shell, a textured orange grain, and several translucent green cylinders.
Above

Gary Greenberg: Sand Grains

A collection of small, diverse mineral samples and fossils arranged against a black background. The pieces vary in shape and colour, including a white spiral shell, a five-pointed star, and several crystalline rocks in shades of green, orange and white.
Above

Gary Greenberg: Sand Grains

A collection of sea glass and weathered shells in various shapes and colours, scattered across a black background. The pieces range from frosted translucent shards to textured organic forms in shades of yellow, blue, purple and white.
Above

Gary Greenberg: Sand Grains

A collection of six smooth, colourful sea glass fragments against a black background. The pieces vary in shape and hue, including a translucent blue disc with concentric circles and a yellow piece with a pitted surface.
Above

Gary Greenberg: Sand Grains

A collection of small sea shells, pebbles and a starfish arranged against a black background. The objects vary in texture and colour, including white ribbed shells and translucent stones with flecks of green and orange.
Above

Gary Greenberg: Sand Grains

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About the Author

Liv Siddall

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Liv joined It’s Nice That as an intern in 2011 and worked across online, print and events, and was latterly Features Editor before leaving in May 2015.

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