We’ve all seen our fair share of rocks, and most of them aren’t that pretty. The ones that are though can be totally mind-blowing. Ryoji Tanaka, a Japanese photographer and chemist, likes to capture some of the most striking elements, minerals and compounds in close-up (like the Uranium-containing cuprosklodowskite you see above) and the results are crazy awesome.
Top picture: Uranium-containing cuprosklodowskite.
Adamantane (by sublimation)
Bismuth
Titanium crystals (by electrolysis)
Andersonite
Plain old gold
Vanadinite crystals on white barite
Muonionalusta meteorite
Karpatite
Uvarovite
Bonus Non-mineral: Thenoic acid
Pictures: Ryoji Tanaka