X-Rays, MRI's...Read all about it!!!

By Penny Nannini

29 Dec 2007

Many years ago while I was in X-Ray school one of my instructors thought of a fun way to show us how IV contrast helps to improve the x-ray. He brought in a tiger lily and had us shoot an x- ray of it. The image was barely visible. He then put some IV contrast in a vase with the lily for a few hours. When we shot it the second time, the image was magical. We saw every single vein in the petals; the stem had filled in, as had the stamen. It was an unexpected and lovely class in botanical anatomy.

Several years later I was at a bookstore looking through some photography magazines. I came across an article on Steven Meyer, a well known photographer that images flowers through x-ray. His work is both beautiful and inspirational.

I had toyed with the idea of doing my own series of flower x-rays for quite some time. I never really did anything about it until about two years ago while trying to come up with some art to put on the walls of our new MRI center. I started with x-rays of Easter lilies and was pleased with the results, but wanted to do an MRI. As far as I knew it had never been done. Like most photographers, I am always looking for a fresh idea or a new way to see things, and how perfect would it be to combine my two professions?

The differences between x-ray and MRI are vast, so I started at square one to re-learn some of the physics. The first two flowers that I worked with were the dogwood blossom and the tulip. It took all day to work out the details which involved vegetable oil, water, and a lot of frustration, but I eventually got a couple of images that were worth framing. Every time I walked by the group of photos I wanted to do more. I would find myself daydreaming about ways to improve the technique, until finally I had to take time off so that I could make this a project. The images here are the result. Since I shot these I have continued to explore new ideas that I am hoping to work on this summer.

13 responses

Eric Hart said (27 Sep 2008):
These results are fascinating. This was one of the stories that really caught my eye in this issue.
Ognjen Karabegović gave props (8 Oct 2008):
Exelent works and great story.
Farras Abdelnour said (10 Oct 2008):
fabulous and inspiring idea!
Diane Bartlett said (16 May 2009):
AMAZING. BEAUTIFUL. Love them all.
May Vokaty said (3 Jun 2009):
This is fantastic! I am so very impressed with your work and creativity! I especially like the MRI of the spider flowers and the x-ray of the Lily. Awesome work!
Sincerely,
May, RT(R), MR
Rey mos gave props (3 Jun 2009):
It is a brilliant project but on the other hand, it is not feasible for me to do this!
Lynda Jeffers (Deleted) gave props (31 Aug 2009):
You are so lucky to have access to this kind of equipment....I love the pics and the idea...well done!
Sean-Michael Gettys gave props (13 Sep 2009):
what a wonderful idea, and how amazing it must be to combine your two professions in such a creative way! do what you love, love what you do! :)
((pigotta08)) said (24 Oct 2009):
great!
Catherine Hadler gave props (16 Feb 2010):
I hadn't read this before, it's amazing! Your talents are endless
elena fava emerson said (6 Jun 2010):
unusual and interesting.....

efe
karen ward gave props (11 Jun 2010):
Beautiful
Epin Hervin gave props (30 Aug 2011):
The best experiment story