Blood. The mere mention of the word is enough to make some people feel faint. Most of us associate it with terrible cuts resulting from bad kitchen accidents, or with Halloween and slasher films. In some cultures, it is thought to contain the power and substance of a being, in others it is unclean and undesirable. But whatever be your personal perception of blood, have you ever seen it up-close and personal?  

Using a Samsung Galaxy S II and a home-made adapter, Aurel Manea captured the movements of blood under a microscope. At 400X, there still appears to be a flow to these movements, but once he zooms in at 1000X, everything slows down. Besides images of living blood, Manea also captures images of dried blood, which evoke an old wall that is cracking under the weight of time.

Sit back, press play, and become acquainted with the substance of life.

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