Thursday, June 30, 2011

[UV] Rudbeckia hirta

Today I found another nice Rudbeckia species (Rudbeckia hirta that is), which sports some interesting UV pattern.

[click on images to see larger ones]

Standardized reflected false UV "colors" according to the previously described "UV color palette" related to wavelength.

The normal intensity palette:


and this is the high intensity palette:


So here now the UV image of that flower:


So from that yellow UV color we may deduct that this flower UV reflection is from around 360nm.

And here the UV image of another flower and two young ones:

which shows quite different UV reflections (360nm region = yellow, but in the 385nm region = violet which the young ones exhibit)

For comparison here the VIS shot:

which shows quite different UV reflections (360nm region = yellow, but in the 385nm


Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

Saturday, June 25, 2011

[UV] spectrometric vs photographic results using standardized false UV color palette

While I was shooting flowers at Herrmanshof, Weinheim park, I noticed some intense whiteish and some dimmer greenish UV reflectance patters (in my standardized false UV color palette) and I wanted to have some proof, if from the false color UV displayed it could be backward deducted about a specific sub-UV-A waveband reflection using spectrometric measurements . [click on images to see larger ones] Standardized reflected false UV "colors" according to the previously described "UV color palette" related to wavelength. The normal intensity palette: and this is the high intensity palette: Well, may I remind, that these false colors do not co-exist at the same time with the same intensity at the same wavelength stimulus (hence cannot be mixed), because of the very different sensor sensitivity to different UV wavelengths.
So from that above re-posted graph, which shows that GH1-UVIR sensor reaction to a monochromatic 5nm bandwith stimulus, for instance a 340nm "UV color" needs 4EV more exposure than one at 395nm and a 300nm needs even 6EV more.
This is why I found it so special to find a green response (340nm) and yellowish response (370nm) in the same image (Zinnias as shown; also the reason why the green is so dim and the whitish yellow so overexposed) as there is 3EV in between - and this is why I doubt to ever find sea-green (around 300nm) in such a photo (6EV difference) that would contain this violet (at 395nm) - except I use a special technique which already forms in my mind...

So if one wanted to simulate how the UV color would look like in a resulting photo, we could use the spectrometer output and would have to multiply it with the Baader-U filter transmittance actually and then look up the exposure values per intensity. Unfortunately the sensor also responds nonlinear over wide exposure ranges (so the above is valid for mid level exposures only), so that yields only a crude approximation. But at least one would get a clue why that petal tip appeared green - yellowish in that image as posted above.
Spectrometric result of such a petal of the following Zinnia variant, tip greenish, rest nearly black (in UV) and yellow tip, orange-red the petal rest in VIS:
Photographic result: VIS:left, UV:right
Following examples for comparison,: Bidens ferulifolia, petal tip looks bright yellowish and rest petal quite dark in UV and Sanvitalia procumbens which looks about the same UV color at its petal tip but dimmer and petal rest nearly pitch black in UV (using my standardized false UV color palette). Gaillardia aristata has an underlying UV reflective layer even over the whole tip under a in the visible yellow petal tip and orange-red rest of the tip; the flower center is all UV dark but in the visible orange red outside and greenish in the very center
Spectrometric results Bidens ferulifolia: Prediction "UV color": bright whiteish-yellowish tip, dark rest of petal; dark center Sanvitalia procumbens: Prediction "UV color": whiteish-yellowish tip, dark rest of petal; dark center Photographic result: UV (right part of image is sunlight, left 365nm UV LED; Bidens left, Sanvitalia right): Gaillardia aristata: Prediction "UV color": bright whiteish-yellowish petal; dark center Photographic result: VIS / UV (wet, after rain): Added today: Rudbeckia fulgida flower: Prediction "UV color": yellow tip, dark rest of petal; whiteish-yellowish center reflection Photographic VIS/UV: So we see, that it holds true so far, that my standardized false UV colors can stand for specific UV-A sub-waveband reflections as shown here on my BLOG. Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject... More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

Friday, June 24, 2011

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

[VIS, UV] mating frogs in UV

While I was shooting flowers at Herrmanshof, Weinheim park, two frogs were sitting at the rim of a beautiful pond, very noticing my approac but patiently waiting till I was done with my shots - a very intimate moment between human and animal!

UV sensitive camera, Cerco 94mm lens, Baader-U resp. UV/IR Cut filter; standardized UV palette using my ReflectionDisc

[click on images to see larger ones]

Standardized reflected false UV "colors" according to the previously described "UV color palette" related to wavelength:


VIS:


UV:




Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

[VIS, UV] Helianthus: new vs old flower made visible using ultraviolet light

While I was shooting flowers at Herrmanshof, Weinheim park, I noticed that in UV the ageing of a flower can be easily detected, wheras in visible light, they look alike.

UV sensitive camera, Cerco 94mm lens, Baader-U resp. UV/IR Cut filter; standardized UV palette using my ReflectionDisc

[click on images to see larger ones]

Standardized reflected false UV "colors" according to the previously described "UV color palette" related to wavelength:


VIS:


UV:


These yellow Helianthus tuberosus flowers on teh left side, clearly show age differences: top is in male stage (early), bottom is in female stage (late) but in UV things get much clearer! So I'm sure our beesies knew that way before us...


Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

[VIS, UV] a first 340nm UV pattern?

Today while I was shooting flowers at Herrmanshof, Weinheim park, for the first time I noticed some "green" UV reflectance pattern, that according to my standardized false UV palette looks like a 340nm reflection. Unfortunately it is unsharp, but I will try and re-shoot it later...

UV sensitive camera, Cerco 94mm lens, Baader-U resp. UV/IR Cut filter; standardized UV palette using my ReflectionDisc

[click on images to see larger ones]

Standardized reflected false UV "colors" according to the previously described "UV color palette" related to wavelength:








I wonder if I may get that flower and make some spectrometric reflection tests...


Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

[VIS, UV] Rudbeckia variants with nice UV patterns

Today while I was shooting flowers at Herrmanshof, Weinheim park, I found some nice Rudbeckia spec) which I haven't seen before, sporting some interesting UV patterns.

UV sensitive camera, Cerco 94mm lens, Baader-U resp. UV/IR Cut filter; standardized UV palette using my ReflectionDisc

[click on images to see larger ones]

Standardized reflected false UV "colors" according to the previously described "UV color palette" related to wavelength:








and here one with hardly has any pattern:


I have much to show from that session later...


Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

[VIS, UV] Rudbeckia inside out - different UV reflectances inside and outside

Noticed today, how different the UV reflectance of a freshly unfolding flower (here Rudbeckia fulgida) could be, comparing the outside and inside of the flower petals. Totally invisible to the human naked eye, but surely not to pollinating insects!

UV sensitive camera, Cerco 94mm lens, Baader-U resp. UV/IR Cut filter; standardized UV palette using my ReflectionDisc

[click on images to see larger ones]

Standardized reflected false UV "colors" according to the previously described "UV color palette" related to wavelength:


UV shot:


VIS comparison shot:


I have some theory about that different reflection: I think it makes no (biological) sense that a flower attracts an insect when the flower is not ready yet, nor has anything rewarding to offer i.e. sending out (UV-) signals that would rather lead to "frustrated pollinators" which would most likely quickly learn not to visit such flowers anymore. So, having the outside, less UV-reflective "shield" the opening flower, makes it less attractive to insects, unless the flower has fully opened and also has nectar, thus rewarding pollinators for their visit.

Interesting to see how that UV pattern will develop within the next days; let's see ...


Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

Monday, June 20, 2011

[UV] influence of ray angle when using the Baader-U or classic UV filter

Today again about the "workhorse" of reflected UV photography, the Baader-U "Venus" filter. The old Baader-U had 40 dichroitic layers, the new and currectly sold one has about 100 layers of dichroitic coatings, but on an ionic colored substrate (Schott UG11). That dichroitic coating is only applied to block the IR leakage that SCHOTT UG11 filter glass has, but not to define the filter characteristics itself, as in the case of a pure dichroitic filter on a transparent substrate.

It has been argued that dichroic filters are sensitive to the angle of incidence of the light and that the filter pass-band would be shifting towards shorter wavelengths. What was argued is, that if using wide angle lenses (which hardly exist for transmitted UV anyway), rays may enter the filter at such a high angle of incidence, that the filter transmittance and overall filter characteristics would severely be altered.

That mentioned effect is there of course, but in practice (at least in mine), I have never noticed a negative effect, also since my shortest focal length was about 28mm only and the largest sensor used APS format. At much wider angles and using a full format sensor it would certainly have more impact.

But let's just see how much impact in practice that really has...

Here a spectrometric measurement done in my optical lab (at 0-degrees and 45-degrees incident angle) to show the influence the angle of rays has.

[click on image to see a larger one]



So we see that about 10% in transmittance are lost at 45 degrees, which equals about -1/8 EV and so that has no real relevance on the photographic result. There is also some shift towards shorter wavelengths, but actually it is more a broadening of the total transmission band towards shorter wavelengths of some 13nm (325nm --> 312nm) on the left filter shoulder, whereas the right filter shoulder nearly remains the same (390nm --> 388nm) using the 10% transmittance values - that actually being a positive effect.

In summary the total transmitted energy (= proportional to the area under that curve) should stay about the same, so no effect on the exposure time should be expected, but an ever so slightest change in colors towards the edges of the image might be noticed, if using a full format sensor and a wide angle lens for reflected UV photography - which I have never noticed in my photographic practice.

Well and then there was a thought in the back of my head and I wondered what a ray at an incident angle of say 45 degrees would have to suffer if it had to pass through much more ionic classic "normal" i.e. uncoated colored filter glass at that angle in comparison to a ray at 0 degrees angle...

Here's the result, same setup as with the previously tested Baader-U filter, using the same basic filter glass: SCHOTT UG11



Interesting 12% peak transmittance loss, but no broadening of the transmitted band and no change in shape. In total also only about -1/8EV loss of transmittance, so not really of photographic relevance.

Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

[UV, VIS] Rudbeckia flower unfolding, part II

Today further shots of my first Rudbeckia flower this year I had written about before , using UV sensitive camera, Cerco 94mm lens, Baader-U resp. UV/IR Cut filter

[click on images to see larger ones]

UV shot:


VIS comparison shot:


Interesting to see how that UV pattern emerges within days; let's see what's happening on the following days ...

[ssshh, did you see the guest?]


Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

Friday, June 17, 2011

[UV, VIS] Cerco 28mm multispectral lens

Today about a CERCO 3.5/28mm multispectral lens, made of fluorite / quartz and a big CAVEAT upfront, as I'm using this lens way outside its defined range, which has been made to serve as a lens for an image intensifier system originally with a 18mm image diameter - I'm using 21.6mm, because that's the sensor diameter of my UV sensitive camera. So what has to be expected is a sharp and contrasty center, but most likely quite some fall-off outside that central area.

Mechanically this lens is very tiny, about half the size of my thumb, c-mount and has a rare front filter thread. Register is quite short due to its defined use for an image intensifier, but meets c-mount lens standards and even focuses from beyond infinity to about 0.5m (so it cannot be used on Nikon bodies, to make it clear).

[click on image to see a larger one]

Transmission is quite good and as expected:

[measurement valid from about 315 - 750nm]

That said, now to the UV and VIS test results. All shots done in sunlight, ISO640, f5.6, focus set in visible light, no focus adjustments done. ReflectionDisc in camera whitebalance, reduced to 1280pix, sharpened for web, contrast enhanced (UV).

1) Rudbeckia fulgida flower close-up (same camera position as in my shots shown in other thread here)

VIS:


UV:



2) Shot down to the city (infinity):

VIS:


UV:



3) Shot of our neighbors house (ca 30m):

VIS:


UV:



Especially from the last two shots it gets quite clear, that this lens was used outside its defined image circle and the loss of sharpness is evident. The close-up shots are much better (as could have been expected due to the much larger projected image circle). The image center is actually quite sharp and contrasty for such a lens and esp. when compared with a Noflexar 35mm, which it certainly beats in resolution and transmission (but the Noflexar 35mm has the benefit to cover a FF sensor). This lens was made for very faint light intensities, so no wonder that it shows some signs of flare if used at high light intensities (although proper shading was used), but I could not detect a prominent hotspot (which its brother, the Cerco 94mm has).

Overall a nicely performing lens for UV-VIS (I haven't tested it for IR) if used inside the specified range, but also quite an expensive one (UV-Nikkor range).


Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

Thursday, June 16, 2011

[UV, VIS, BV] first Rudbeckia flower unfolding

Today shots of my first Rudbeckia flower this year, using UV sensitive camera, Cerco 94mm lens, Baader-U resp. UV/IR Cut filter

[click on images to see larger ones]

UV shot:


Bee Vision (simulated using filter):


VIS comparison shot:


The idea is to see, how the UV pattern emerges within the next days when the flower totally enfolds ...


Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

[UV] Hungarian Parliament building in reflected ultraviolet light

From a recent trip to Hungary, here a shot of the famous Hungarian Parliament building as seen from the Buda castle on the opposite side of the Danube river.

Shot using my UV sensitive camera, Cerco 94mm lens, Baader-U filter and preset UV WhiteBalance using my ReflectionDisc.

[click on image to see a larger one]




Reflected UV "colors" are according to the previously described "UV color palette" related to wavelength:


A visible comparison shot taken a few minutes from the one above looks like that:



Note the very different colors and especially the fogged background due to Rayleigh scattering of UV light which is much stronger for UV light than for visible or even IR light (this is why IR is so often used to penetrate clouds = make them transparent).

Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos