Mexican Zinnia - Zinnia haageana in reflected ultraviolet photography, simulated butterfly and bee vision IV

Today again shots of a very decorative garden flower, a Zinnia haageana - Mexican Zinnia in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U and Jupiter-U filter as well as my XBV filters for simulating bee and butterfly vision. Lens was my CERCO 94mm quartz flourite lens. Light source was a high power Xenon flash. All shots were done at about f8..

[click on image to see a larger one]

Visible light image:  

UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm, effective peak approx. 375nm):  

UV image using Saturn-U filter (approx. 300-350nm, effective peak approx. 325nm):  

Simulated butterfly vision (UV - VIS) using XBV3 filter:  

Simulated bee vision (UV - VIS) using XBV6 filter:  

Simulated bee vision (UV - VIS) using XBV5 filter:  

Hexaptych of the above:
 


Mexican Zinnia flowers have a very specific UV pattern, its petals are very UV dark on the middle and bottom, but its petal tips are very UV bright, reaching much deeper into UV as any other flower I know (to approx. 300nm), and all this gets nicely visible.


I have written previously about these flowers HERE.

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