"Look into the eyeball of your old friend..." maybe David Byrne would be interested in this -- he published a book of assorted and odd photos he's taken while traveling around the world on tours. This is my right (I think) retina -- freshly imaged just this morning when I got my eye exam. They gave me the left one as well, since I asked, but it's essentially the same as what you see here (in reverse.)
The locus of blood vessels is the optic nerve. The dark circular area opposite is the macula. (I'm probably spelling that wrong.) I think the doctor said we perceive all color at that one point. I'm assured that both retinas are very healthy.
When I saw them, I knew I had to have copies. I live primarily through my vision. It's a desceptively simple-seeming mechanism -- this pinkish orb, fed by tributaries of blood, quietly performing its highly important task. It looks so peaceful, somehow, almost womb-like; Except I know the womb to be a fairly un-quiet place, an echo chamber sloshing with amniotic fluid and distant murmurs, loud repetitive thuds.
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