Daniel Sanchez’s Gemstone Landscapes Are The Most Stunning Things You’ll See All Day

Published February 13, 2015
Updated January 30, 2018
Gemstone Landscapes

Source: Smithsonian

To collectors, the most coveted gems are often the flawless ones. But to Los Angeles-based gemologist Daniel Sanchez, the beauty is all in the flaws. More specifically, the gem’s inclusions, or the bits of other minerals that get sucked inside the gem as it grows. Lucky for Sanchez, he can purchase these less-coveted specimens for cheaper prices at trade shows. Lucky for us, he is also a photographer with some intense equipment that provides us a glimpse into the secret worlds that exist within these precious (though imperfect) gemstones.

“When I first started looking through the microscope at gemstones, it was all space to me,” says Sanchez. “It was all the limitless imagination of outer space.” Photomicrography as a whole is used mostly in research, but within the field his photos are unique. It should be noted that while his intentions may seem wholly scientific, he encourages others to “see what they what to see”, and strives to attain certain standards of fine art quality in his images.

gemstone landscapes hematite bloom

Hematite takes a shattered pattern in a chunk of Brazilian quartz. Source: Smithsonian

With this type of photography, creativity and vison only gets you so far, and Sanchez pieced together his photography arsenal over 10 years. “There were so many obstacles … if you don’t have the right equipment you can’t overcome them,” he says. “There’s only so good an image you can make.”

With all the intense lighting, equipment, and serious amount of time that Sanchez pours into this work, it’s reasonable to assume that it’s very easy to plummet down into a rabbit hole of discovery and not come up for days. Getting lost in this otherworldly universe would be incredibly easy.

“I have to turn the lights off in this room, and then turn the fiber optic lights on, so it’s very much this laboratory vibe because it’s so dark and mysterious. And I’m staring into a window, seeing something totally different than the reality around me.”

gemstone landscapes opal rhyolite

Source: Smithsonian

A scene captures in the igneous rock rhyolite; shimmering opal shines down amidst the cliffs.

gemstone landscapes mexican blue flame

Source: Smithsonian

What looks like melting snow emitting a blue haze of opal inside Mexican rhyolite.

gemstone landscapes mexican opal

Source: Smithsonian

Quartz stained by limonite resembles an underwater landscape.

gemstone landscapes mountains in quartz

Source: Wired

A mountain range made of quartz.

gemstone landscapes rutile in quartz

Source: Wired

A red rutile monolith stands against a clear quartz sky.

gemstone landscapes rusted rutile in quartz

Source: Wired

Rusted rutile roots appear geometric.

gemstone landscapes pyrite in quartz

Source: Wired

Pyrite droplets resonate in a quartz ocean.

author
Erin Kelly
author
An All That's Interesting writer since 2013, Erin Kelly focuses on historic places, natural wonders, environmental issues, and the world of science. Her work has also been featured in Smithsonian and she's designed several book covers in her career as a graphic artist.
editor
Chris Altman
editor
Chris Altman is a freelancing writer and artist based out of Brooklyn, NY.