Many researchers develop products and processes that depend upon colloidal materials. Rheological and other important material parameters are influenced by the morphology of the colloid. The photography industry uses many such colloids including silver halide sols, photographic coupler sols and emulsions surfactants, and gelatin solutions and gels. High-resolution direct electron images of these systems in their native states permit photographic scientists to understand how changes in formulation produce changes in microstructure and, ultimately, to understand the photographic performance of the system.We prepare thin biconcave liquid films spanning the holes in a perforated carbon film supported by an electron microscope grid (see Fig 1). To prevent changes in composition of the colloid caused by evaporation, the films are prepared in an environmental chamber and are propelled through a trap door into a container of liquid ethane. The specimen is cooled at a rate sufficient to prevent crystallization of water. When maintained below -150 °C, these specimens are stable and compatible with the high vacuuary of the electron microscope.