A shift of color from green to blue in the focal conic texture of this specimen demonstrates a very slight thickness gradient. Spots on the fans occur because of small gas pockets trapped within the liquid crystalline phase. The DNA concentration for this specimen is approximately 450 milligrams per millimeter, and the magnification is approximately 300x. The digital image presented above was originally recorded on Fujichrome 64T transparency film using a Nikon Optiphot-Pol microscope with crossed polarized illumination. Exposures were recorded about 2.5 f-steps under the recommended value given by an in-camera photomultiplier and were push-processed approximately 1.5 f-steps in the first E-6 developer.