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.

#Petheadz – is an Instagram series by Zach Rose, a 23 year old photographer/filmmaker from Toronto. (Photo by Zach Rose)

A model presents a creation at the Sophia Webster presentation during London Fashion Week in London, Britain February 20, 2017. (Photo by Neil Hall/Reuters)

Sophia Loren gave the most legendary side-eye ever, shooting daggers at Jayne Mansfield in 1957. (Photo by Everett Collection)

Italian actress Sophia Loren attends the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, 1954. (Photo by AGIP/RDA/Getty Images)

Models at the Sophia Webster presentation during London Fashion Week Spring Summer 2015 on September 14, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)

Cast member Yara Sophia of “RuPaul's Drag Race” visits the Empire State Building in New York City on June 24, 2021. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

The last of the summer roses are dusted with a coating of frost as the first freezing temperatures descend on Britain on November 7, 2011 in Knutsford, England. The roses are the last blooms to survive the Summer at Curbishleys specialist rose nursery in Cheshire. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)