Thursday, June 26, 2014

Mexican Zinnia - Zinnia haagenea in reflected ultraviolet photography and simulated butterfly and bee vision XXI

Today now a summary of shots of some specimens of a very decorative summer flower, Mexican Zinnia - Zinnia haagenea in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter as well as in simulated butterfly and bee vision using my proprietary XBV filters. Lens was my CERCO 94mm quartz flourite lens. Light source was sunlight. All shots were done at about f5.6.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Sequence of quadriptychs is (left to right, top to bottom): Human vision, UV, simulated butterfly vision, simulated bee vision:
 

 

 

 

Mexican Zinnia flowers have a very specific UV pattern. Their petals are very UV dark in the middle and bottom, but their petal tips are very UV bright, reaching much deeper into UV as any other flower I know (< 345nm), and all this gets nicely visible.


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