Do tears of joy look the same as ones of woe—or ones from chopping onions? In “The Topography of Tears,” the Los Angeles-based photographer Rose-Lynn Fisher explores the physical terrain of one hundred tears emitted during a range of emotional states and physical reactions. Using a Zeiss microscope with an attached digital camera, she captures the composition of tears enclosed in glass slides, magnified between 10x and 40x. “There are many factors that determine the look of each tear image, including the viscosity of the tear, the chemistry of the weeper, the settings of the microscope, and the way I process the images afterwards,” she says.

Jeremy Scott's spring 2019 collection is modeled during Fashion Week in New York, Thursday, September 6, 2018. (Photo by Kevin Hagen/AP Photo)

Laura Giombini of Italy reacts during the Women's Beach Volleyball preliminary round Pool D match against Jamie Lynn Broder and Kristina Valjas of Canada on Day 2 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Beach Volleyball Arena on August 7, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Models display a creation by K-Lynn Lingerie during a fashion show in the Lebanese capital Beirut on April 24, 2016. (Photo by Anwar Amro/AFP Photo)

Models blow kisses on the runway wearing Liliana Montoya swimwear at a FUNKSHION fashion show during Swim Week, Sunday, July 23, 2017, in Miami Beach, Fla. (Photo by Lynne Sladky/AP Photo)

Performers pose during the 2022 ICC Women's Cricket World Cup match between Australia and West Indies at Basin Reserve on March 15, 2022 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

Models walk down the runway during the Robb & Lulu swimwear show as part of Funkshion Fashion Week Swim, Friday, July 17, 2015, in Coral Gables, Fla. (Photo by Lynne Sladky/AP Photo)

Team GB Rhythmic Gymnast Lynne Karina Hutchison during a training session on the seafront in Hove, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Hove, Britain, June 10, 2020. (Photo by Peter Cziborra/Reuters)