Blue Moon over Castle in reflected ultraviolet (UV) photography

Today is a 2nd full moon within the same month, a "Blue Moon", which I have previously shot in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter, and then superimposed to a normal night light shot of our castle here. Lens was my CERCO 94mm quartz flourite lens. All shots were done at about f5.6.

[click on image to see a larger one]



Indeed, the moon has UV reflectance and it can be recorded using proper equipment which makes that nicely visible.

I have written about photographing the Moon previously HERE
 
Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

ZDFzeit August 25 20:15h CET - UV videography to show the effect of sun protection

The ZDF has contracted me and my UV cameras to contribute to their series ZDFzeit which will now be aired on August 25, 2015 at primetime 20:15 hours CET showing the effect of dangerous UV radiation on human skin and the effect of using proper suncreme to protect against that (in German language, with subtitles).

[click on image to see a larger one]

(C) ZDF, used with permission

Here is a LINK to the official announcement.


Quite impressive and graphic results have been obtained, worth watching to see what a human sees and how that same scene looks like in ultraviolet (UV) light!


There is a part II about it showing the video HERE

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

European Magpie - Pica pica in reflected ultraviolet photography

Today shots of quite pretty feathers of an European Magpie - Pica pica in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter and a longer wave UV. Lens was my UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz flourite lens. Light source was a modified for high UV output Xenon flashlight. All shots were done at f8.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Triptych (left to right): Human vison, reflected UV (longer wave), reflected UV (Baader-U filter):


Diptych (left to right): closeup Human vison, reflected UV(Baader-U filter):


Triptych (left to right): Human vison polarization 0 degrees, rotated 45 degrees, 90 degrees:


This attractive bird has iridescent feathers with a metallic green and blue shine maximized under a 45 degree reflection angle, however it also reflects UV quite well peaking at around 365nm (left) and to some lesser amount 385nm (right), invisible to us humans, and all this gets nicely visible.

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

Snakeshead - Arum maculatum in reflected ultraviolet photography and simulated bee vision

Today shots of the very decorative late summer berries of the Snakeshead - Arum maculatum in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter, as well as in simulated bee vision using my proprietary XBV filter. Lens was my UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz flourite lens. Light source was sunlight. All shots were done at f8.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Triptych (left to right): Human vison, reflected UV, simulated bee vision:


This attractive berries shows no prominent UV pattern, but a metallic like shine, peaking at around 365nm, invisible to us humans, and all this gets nicely visible.

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

Missouri Coneflower - Rudbeckia missouriensis in reflected ultraviolet photography, simulated butterfly and bee vision III

Today more shots of a group of decorative summer flowers Missouri Coneflower - Rudbeckia missouriensis 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 filter. Lens was my UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz flourite lens. Light source was sunlight. All shots were done at f8.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Triptych (left to right): Human vison, reflected UV, simulated bee vision:


Triptych (left to right): Human vison, simulated butterfly vision, simulated bee vision:
 

This attractive flower shows its very prominent UV bullseye pattern, its petals have an UV dark bottom and very UV bright tips (around 365nm), invisible to us humans, and all this gets nicely visible in this group shot.

I have written about this flower previously HERE
 
Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

Missouri Coneflower - Rudbeckia missouriensis in reflected ultraviolet photography, simulated butterfly and bee vision II

Today shots of a decorative summer flower Missouri Coneflower - Rudbeckia missouriensis 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 filter. Lens was my UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz flourite lens. Light source was sunlight. All shots were done at f8.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Triptych (left to right): Human vison, reflected UV, simulated bee vision:


Triptych (left to right): Human vison, simulated butterfly vision, simulated bee vision:
 

This attractive flower shows its very prominent UV bullseye pattern, its petals have an UV dark bottom and very UV bright tips (around 365nm), invisible to us humans, and all this gets nicely visible.


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

Orange coneflower - Rudbeckia fulgida in reflected ultraviolet photography, simulated butterfly and bee vision XII

Today shots of a decorative summer flower Orange coneflower - Rudbeckia fulgida 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 filter. Lens was my UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz flourite lens. Light source was sunlight. All shots were done at f8.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Triptych (left to right): Human vison, reflected UV, simulated bee vision:


Triptych (left to right): Human vison, simulated butterfly vision, simulated bee vision:
 

This attractive flower shows its very prominent UV bullseye pattern, its petals have an UV dark bottom and very UV bright tips (around 365nm), invisible to us humans, and all this gets nicely visible.

I have previously written about this flower HERE

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

Orange coneflower - Rudbeckia fulgida in reflected ultraviolet photography, simulated butterfly and bee vision XI

Today shots of two species of a decorative summer flower Orange coneflower - Rudbeckia fulgida 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 ZEISS 62mm quartz flourite lens. Light source was sunlight. All shots were done at about f5.6.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Triptych (left to right): Human vison, reflected UV, simulated bee vision:
 
 

This attractive flower shows its very prominent UV bullseye pattern, its petals have an UV dark bottom and very UV bright tips (around 365nm), invisible to us humans, and all this gets nicely visible.

I have previously written about this flower HERE

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

Day Lilly - Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus in reflected ultraviolet photography and simulated bee vision III

Today shots of an attractive summer flower, a creamy yellow Day Lilly - Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter as well as in simulated bee vision using my proprietary XBV filter. Lens was my ZEISS 62mm quartz flourite lens. Light source was sunlight. All shots were done at about f5.6.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Triptych (left to right): Human vison, reflected UV, simulated bee vision:


Most Hemerocallis have a very prominent "dark throat" UV pattern, and that gets nicely visible here, also in simulated bee vision.

I have previously written about that flower 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

Mexican Zinnia - Zinnia haagenea in reflected ultraviolet photography XXIX

Today more shots of very decorative summer flowers, Mexican Zinnia - Zinnia haagenea in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter. Lens was my ZEISS 62mm quartz flourite lens. Light source was sunlight. All shots were done at about f5.6.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Triptych (left to right): Human vision, reflected UV, simulated bee vision:
 

Mexican Zinnia flowers have very specific UV patterns. Their petals are very UV dark in the middle and bottom, their petal tips, however, are very UV bright (around 360nm outer tip, 350nm middle tip, 345nm border to dark), reaching deeper into UV as any other flower I know of, and all this gets nicely visible.

I have previously written about those Zinnias HERE

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

Mexican Zinnia - Zinnia haagenea in reflected ultraviolet photography XXVIII

Today shots of very decorative summer flowers, Mexican Zinnia - Zinnia haagenea in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter. Lens was my ZEISS 62mm quartz flourite lens. Light source was sunlight. All shots were done at about f5.6.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Triptych (left to right): Human vision, reflected UV, simulated bee vision:
 

Mexican Zinnia flowers have very specific UV patterns. Their petals are very UV dark in the middle and bottom, their petal tips, however, are very UV bright (around 360nm outer tip, 350nm middle tip, 345nm border to dark), reaching deeper into UV as any other flower I know of, and all this gets nicely visible.

I have previously written about those Zinnias HERE

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

XVUV - A Variable UV Transmission filter for reflected ultraviolet (UV) photography

Today about something rather unique, a variable UV transmission filter (XVUV) for reflected UV photography. Well, actually one with an adjustable / variable transmission shoulder which may be steplessly adjusted by some 20nm. I tested it for the first time now using the Baader-U UV pass filter for comparison, a UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz flourite lens and my UV sensitive camera. Light was sunlight on a bright sunny day.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Ultraviolet (UV) image using Baader-U left) and shortest possible setting of the XVUV variable filter (right) - architecture:


Ultraviolet (UV) images using XVUV variable filter at different settings with shifting peak transmisison towards the right (different whitebalance as above) - architecture:


Relative transmission spectra of the XVUV variable filter at different settings, illustrating its ability to prefer shorter UV wavelengths:


This filter now allows to steplessly shift the peak transmission from about 360nm down to some 340nm, albeit with some loss of peak transmission.

I will report more about that XVUV variable UV transmission filter here later, as more testing, calibration and optimization needs to be done.

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

XNUV2 - a much faster filter for reflected ultraviolet (UV) photography

Today about another, faster filter for reflected UV photography, as there still seems to be some demand for handheld UV shooting or shooting at higher speeds for instance for video work. This here is the XNUV2, that I finally tested for the first time now using the Baader-U UV pass filter for comparison, a UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz flourite lens and my UV sensitive camera. Light was late evening light on a rather dull day.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Ultraviolet (UV) image using Baader-U left) and XNUV2 filter (right) - flower :

bw image shows that the UV content is basically identical:


Ultraviolet (UV) image using Baader-U left) and XNUV filter (right) - architecture:


What is important to notice is, that also the XNUV2 is also able to precisely reproduce this distinct flower UV pattern, as well as it shows good sharpness, as compared to the Baader-U filter. And most importantly it is 2.3 stops faster than using the Baader-U filter, which is quite an impressive result as it will make it much easier for video work.

I will report more about that filter here later, as more testing needs to be done.

I have written before about a faster XNUV filter 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

Nikon UV-Nikkor f4.5 105mm vs CERCO f4.3 94mm

As I was testing a Nikon UV-Nikkor f4.5 105mm, I thought it would be interesting to compare it to my CERCO f4.3 94mm workhorse lens, especially about possible chromatic aberration, sharpness and contrast. Target was a metallic precision ruler, light was sunlight. Only visible light photograhy was done here.

[click on image to see a larger one]

CERCO top, Nikon bottom. Increasing f-stop setting towards the right, starting fully open leftmost.




Both lenses do not show CA. But interesting to note, how much higher the contrast of the UV Nikkor is. The CERCO shows futher decreasing contrast when stopping down (to the right) although flare control was used by using a deep hood against stray light. Both lenses are very sharp, but overall the Nikkor seems to be the clear winner here and it also covers FF sensors, which the CERCO does not do. Both are excellent lenses in terms of sharpness, but contrast and flare always need special attention, especially when using the CERCO multispectral lens.

I have compared quartz fluorite lenses in terms of their transmissions 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

Mexican Zinnia - Zinnia haagenea in (deep) reflected ultraviolet photography XXVII

Today shots of very decorative summer flowers, Mexican Zinnia - Zinnia haagenea in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter as well as a 340nm short pass filter for deep(er) UV photography. 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]

Triptych (left to right): Human vision, reflected UV (320-395nm), deep reflected UV (320-340nm):
 

Mexican Zinnia flowers have very specific UV patterns which reach quite deep into UV. Their petals are very UV dark in the middle and bottom, their petal tips, however, are very UV bright (here around 370nm outer tip, 365nm middle tip). Deeper UV photography reveals, that the outer tip part reaches even deeper into UV, deeper as any other flower I know of, and all this gets nicely visible.

I have previously written about those Zinnias HERE

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

Mexican Zinnia - Zinnia haagenea in reflected ultraviolet photography XXVI

Today shots of very decorative summer flowers, Mexican Zinnia - Zinnia haagenea in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter. 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]

Quadriptych (left to right, top to bottom each): Human vision, reflected UV:
 


Mexican Zinnia flowers have very specific UV patterns and here, although their visible representations look very differently, their reflected UV pattern is nearly the same. Their petals are very UV dark in the middle and bottom, their petal tips, however, are very UV bright (around 370nm outer tip, 365nm middle tip, 350nm border to dark), reaching deeper into UV as any other flower I know of, and all this gets nicely visible.

I have previously written about those Zinnias HERE

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

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

Today more shots 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]

Quadriptych (left to right, top to bottom): Human vision, UV, simulated butterfly vision, simulated bee vision:
 

Triptych (left to right): Human vision, UV, simulated bee vision:
 

Triptych (left to right): Human vision, 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, their petal tips, however, are very UV bright (around 370nm outer tip, 365nm middle tip, 350nm border to dark), reaching deeper into UV as any other flower I know of, and all this gets nicely visible.

I have previously written about those Zinnias HERE

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

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

Today some shots 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]

Quadriptych (left to right, top to bottom): Human vision, UV, simulated butterfly vision, simulated bee vision:
 

Triptych (left to right): Human vision, UV, simulated bee vision:
 

Triptych (left to right): Human vision, 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, their petal tips, however, are very UV bright (around 370nm outer tip, 365nm middle tip, 350nm border to dark), reaching deeper into UV as any other flower I know of, and all this gets nicely visible.

I have previously written about those Zinnias HERE

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

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

Today some shots 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]

Quadriptych (left to right, top to bottom): Human vision, UV, simulated butterfly vision, simulated bee vision:
 

Triptych (left to right): Human vision, UV, simulated bee vision:
 

Triptych (left to right): Human vision, 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, their petal tips, however, are very UV bright (around 370nm left, 365nm right), reaching deeper into UV as any other flower I know of, and all this gets nicely visible.

I have previously written about those Zinnias HERE

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