Amber Tree autumn leaf in reflected ultraviolet photography

Today about a fallen to the ground colorful autumn leaf of an American Sweetgum - Liquidambar styraciflua tree in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U. 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]

 This how it looks like usually (different leaf)

Diptych: Human vison (left side), reflected UV (right side):


This amber tree leaf shows fine leaf structures in VIS and reflected UV, but in UV larger dark patches get visible, where this leaf shows damage and decay, and all this gets nicely visible.


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

Gasometer Oberhausen Museum, Wonders of Nature Exhibit 2016

The project management of Gasometer Oberhausen Museum has asked me to participate with some of my works for their forthcoming 2016 exhibit "Wonders of Nature", which will open up its doors to the public March 11, 2016 and will last till December 30, 2016.

(quote) The forthcoming exhibition at Gasometer Oberhausen celebrates in visually stunning images the life of plants and animals – the highlight will be a 20 metre large terrestrial globe in the gigantic interior (unquote)

(c) Gasometer Oberhausen
My contribution will be some images of a Zinnia haageana flower in very large prints, on display in their exhibition area below that globe, demonstrating the difference between our human vision and a simulation of that of a honey bee.

Triptych Human Vision, UV, Simulated Bee Vision (left to right):  

I'm certain this exhibit will be visually stunning, as well as highly educative and suited for interested individuals as well as families and schools. Go have a look, it will be well worth it!

I have written about that flower HERE

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

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

Today about composite shot of a decorative summer flower Orange coneflower - Rudbeckia fulgida 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 a modified for high UV output Xenon flash. All shots were done at f8.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Composite image: Human vison (right side), reflected UV (left side):


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, but very visible to bees and butterflies, and all this gets nicely visible.

I have previously written about this flower HERE

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

BBC Four - Colour: The Spectrum of Science

BBC Channel Four has recently produced and aired their three episode series "Colour: The Spectrum of Science ". The last episode "Beyond the Rainbow" has been aired on November 18, 2015 and deals with invisible colors, resp. IR and UV, the latter also about using reflected UV for behavioural reasons (starling) and pollination (bees). I have consulted the production team about the latter and have photographed and shown them the European starlings UV pattern (I wrote about that HERE ).

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


Quote BBC: " Colour: The Spectrum of Science - 3. Beyond the Rainbow
We live in a world ablaze with colour. Rainbows and rainforests, oceans and humanity, earth is the most colourful place we know of. But the colours we see are far more complex and fascinating than they appear. In this series, Dr Helen Czerski uncovers what colour is, how it works, and how it has written the story of our planet.

The colours that we see are only a fraction of what's out there. Beyond the rainbow there are colours invisible to our eyes. In this episode, Dr Helen Czerski tells the story of scientific discovery. To see the universe in a whole new light, Helen takes to the skies in a NASA jumbo jet equipped with a 17-tonne infrared telescope.

We can't see in ultra violet, but many animals can. Helen explores what the world looks like to the birds and the bees. With the discovery of x-rays we could look inside ourselves in ways that previously had only been possible after death. Today those same x-rays allow us to examine life at the atomic level, helping to develop new drugs and better materials. Ultimately, by harnessing all the colours there are, researchers are beginning to image the human body as never before, revealing new ways to treat disease."

Here now is the link to the video on BBC iPlayer

A wonderful production certainly worth watching!


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

ZDF TerraX Series "The Magic of Colors" Oct 18 2015 19:30h CET II

The TerraX/ZDF production company had contracted me and my UV cameras to contribute stills and a HD UV video to their series "The Magic of Colors". This episode has been aired on October 18, 2015 at primetime 19:30 hours CET and has shown the iportance of colors in human evolution, but also the importance for flowering plants and bees.

Here now is the video, Flowers + Bees in VIS + UV starts at 15:35
Impressive, as all the TerraX productions are and very worth watching!

I have written about that before HERE

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

North Carolina Botanical Gardens Bee Exhibit with reflected ultraviolet (UV) photography

The North Carolina Botanical Gardens (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) just concluded a four months exhibit about the importance of Bees with some of my works included.

I got informed by the organizing commitee, that it was a great success and well received by its visitors.

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

ZDF TerraX Series "The Magic of Colors" Oct 18 2015 19:30h CET

TerraX has contracted me to supply them with Vis + UV stills and a reflected UV HD video for their forthcoming two-part series "The Magic of Colors" which will air Oct 18 (part I) and Oct 25 (part II), 2015 19:30 hours CET on TV channel ZDF - my work will be shown in part I on Oct 18.

Quote TerraX: "Whether ocher, red, yellow, green or blue: Behind every color shade are hidden stories and amazing facts. Why do they have such a great importance for us people and why has that always been that way? Only those who could recognize whether a fruit is ripe or toxic, could survive. All colors in nature serve a biological purpose and every living being has specialized his perception towards that. But man alone manufactures colors and gives them symbolic power."

That also applies also to animals and flowers, and evlolution found amazing ways of plant-animal interaction, benefitting them both. However not all animals and insects have the very same color perception we humans have, some of them can see what we cannot see, ultraviolet (UV) light for instance, or the very faint UV induced visible fluorescence some flowers emit to attract night active moths, like this four o'clock flower (Mirabilis jalapa) for instance shown in human vision and fluorescence with its glowing pollen:

Here now some examples what pollinating bees are able to see and what we humans see, Brown Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida) to start with (1st visible light and 2nd reflected UV)

There will also be a video showing a bee pollinating a Rubbeckia flower in reflected ultraviolet light:  

I'm pretty sure this whole series will be quite exciting to watch as there is so much more in it. Be sure to watch it of you can!

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

Carl Bosch Museum Heidelberg Special Exhibit Fascination Color with simulated bee and butterfly vision images II

Today about the opening event of the "Fascination Color" exhibit at the Carl Bosch Museum, Heidelberg Germany which will be open from 12. September 2015 - 3. April 2016. Some of my best works will be shown in human vision, in simulated bee and butterfly vision.

Here the introductory text: "How do colors come into existence? What are colors used for? What really is color? These and many other questions are answered by the exhibition and illustrates how broad ranged the subject of colors actually is. With many exciting exhibits, visitors learn that we see colors not only with our eyes and experience how other people and animals see the colorful world. The symbolic and social meanings of colors are explained, as is the extraction and use of historic natural colors, up to modern industrial dyes." [translation by me]

The scientific background of colors are demonstrated with live experiments, how it was found out, color models from history up to now explained, color temperature and the effect of different light sources, as well as natural pigments and dyes from ancient times to todays are being shown.

The last two pictures shows the animated video with my works showing the difference between human, butterfly and bee vision with various flowers with a very prominent UV pattern. Beneath there is an explanation how evolution has started with tetrachromatic vision and how that has developed over millions of years into the various types of vision today.

If you find time to, pay it a visit, it will certainly be worth going with your whole family!
 
The Carl Bosch Museum Heidelberg has been founded and is being actively supported by Gerda Tschira, wife of recently deceased SAP founding member Klaus Tschira . The non-profit Klaus Tschira Foundation promotes the advancement of natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science and strives to raise appreciation for these fields.
 

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

How to modularily mount a projection or other large diameter lens

This is to show how to mount a projection or other rather large diameter lens. The front adapter can be changed, as well as rear camera mount (can be basically any camera).

Remark: This is mainly intended to test and use a variety of lenses and not does not replace a full conversion of such a lens (adding iris, focusing, camera mount), as it allows to switch lenses in seconds using an Allen wrench.

Works from infinity (depending on lens back focal length) to very closeup. Setscrews allow to calibrate the infinity position. The basic idea is to allow the lens to "dive into" the larger helicoid, hence quite a short optical length can be achieved using such a contraption, also for lenses with shorter focal and back focal length.

To determine the length of the needed helicoid may be found here on my site.

Lens --> Lens Adapter to M65 --> M65 to M42 (or M65) Helicoid --> M42 (or M65) to Camera mount Adapter 

 It is not a slim elegant and lightweight solution, but the benefits are:

1. no lens modification needed
2. non rotating front for sunshade/filter (needs additional clamp holder)
3. accepts a variety of lens types and lens diameters, switch within seconds
4. mount may hold ND filter (better in front though using variable ND filter) or an adjustable iris
5. allows a variety of camera mounts (M42, Nikon-F, Nikon-Z soon, Sony-E, Canon EF, m4/3, Hasselblad V, Mamiya 645, Fuji GFX etc.)
6. needs only about 15mm net optical length (plus camera register) for lens diameter 62.5mm or smaller
7. safes money and time for not having to go to the gym, as it is quite heavy :-)

The design was originally made to accept 35mm russian film projection lenses with a standard 62.5mm diameter. Smaller ones (52.5mm etc.) are fitted using a different front ring, also some larger ones can be fitted, but infinity focus may often not be reached using the latter, as such lenses then cannot dive into the helicoid; but longer focal lengths usually work.

Those two adapter rings (front and back) are made by Rafcamera.com based on my design. Front one has three hex nut setscrews which hold the lens in place and allows to adjust infinity focus (if the lens has enough back focal length). Rafcamera offers several camera adapter rings for the rear, incl. Nikon-F, Nikon-Z soon, Sony-E, m4/3, Hasselblad, Mamiya 645 etc. Orders may be done directly through their site Rafcamera.com or through amazon.com or ebay.com (I have no affiliation with Rafcamera except that I'm a happy customer...). That M65 helicoid is made in China and may be found on ebay.

[my name is on the rings shown was a curtesy of rafcamera and is a non standard feature]

I have written about using such helicoids previously HERE
 
Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...

Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer protection - Galderma Actinica

Galderma Germany had contracted me and my UV cameras for a Blogger Event in Berlin to show the effect of dangerous UV radiation on human skin and the effect of using their medical sun protection product.

Company info:
Actinica® Lotion is a highly effective medical device with broad spectrum UV protection. It has been developed especially for people who are at a higher risk than others to develop skin cancer due to UV exposure. It is the first and only medical device with demonstrated effectiveness in the prevention of various forms of NMSC (Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer) in a clinical study and showed a 53% reduction of actinic keratosis lesions within two years of regular administration of Actinica® Lotion and no new invasive squamous cell carcinoma within two years following regular administration of Actinica® Lotion. Actinica^® Lotion contains a combination of modern photostable UV filters, which cover a broad spectrum to absorb, reflect and scatter UV radiation. It is highly effective in protecting skin from ultraviolet B (UVB) as well as from ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation. Regulations for Actinica^® Lotion are different to those that apply to cosmetic products. The UV protection level of Actinica^® Lotion has been tested according to the European cosmetic requirements for sunscreens: its UVB and UVA protection level meets the highest category, “very high UV protection”.

So here a few shots from that Blogger event in Berlin with my UV camera in action, showing participants how to correctly apply sunscreen and the effect of proper protection.

Fotos (c) Ryan Hursh for sisterMAG    Eventlocation: GebrüderFritz, Berlin

I have previously written about that 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 II

The ZDF had contracted me and my UV cameras to contribute to their series ZDFzeit. This episode has been aired on August 25, 2015 at primetime 20:15 hours CET and has shown the effect of dangerous UV radiation on human skin and the importance of using proper suncreme to protect against that.


Here now is the video, Suncreme + UV starts at 7:30m [click]:

Quite impressive results have been obtained, aside from it having been a great experience to work with such a great team of the ZDF. It is well worth watching to see what a human sees and how that same scene looks like in ultraviolet (UV) light!

I have written about that before HERE

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

UV video about Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer protection - Galderma Actinica

Galderma Germany had contracted me and my UV cameras to show the effect of dangerous UV radiation on human skin and the effect of using their medical sun protection product.

Company info:
Actinica® Lotion is a highly effective medical device with broad spectrum UV protection. It has been developed especially for people who are at a higher risk than others to develop skin cancer due to UV exposure. It is the first and only medical device with demonstrated effectiveness in the prevention of various forms of NMSC (Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer) in a clinical study and showed a 53% reduction of actinic keratosis lesions within two years of regular administration of Actinica® Lotion and no new invasive squamous cell carcinoma within two years following regular administration of Actinica® Lotion.
Actinica^® Lotion contains a combination of modern photostable UV filters, which cover a broad spectrum to absorb, reflect and scatter UV radiation. It is highly effective in protecting skin from ultraviolet B (UVB) as well as from ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation. Regulations for Actinica^® Lotion are different to those that apply to cosmetic products. The UV protection level of Actinica^® Lotion has been tested according to the European cosmetic requirements for sunscreens: its UVB and UVA protection level meets the highest category, “very high UV protection”.

I have previously written about UV videos and sun protection HERE

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

Deep UV Ultraviolet Reflected Light Photography at UV-B 313nm

Today a proof that reflected UV photography is doable at UV-B using a special, up to NIR blocked, peak 313nm, FWHM 9nm narrowband filter and my special UV camera. Lens used was my UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz flourite lens. All shots were done at f4.5.

[click on image to see a larger one]

313nm FWHM 9nm Filter transmission spectra:


Reflected UV-B image at 313nm, 0.8 sec exposure:


This was just a proof of concept that reflected UV imaging can be successfully done even at such deep UV-B wavelengths (OH* 313nm) showing the stainless steel combustion emission valves of a central heating system.

In case you were wondering how a flame of a gas torch would look like in UV...

Triptych (top to bottom) Visual light, emitted UV (320-390nm, Baader-U), emitted UV-B (313nm):


Triptych (top to bottom) Visual light, emitted UV (320-390nm, Baader-U), emitted UV-B (313nm) - morph. Gradient:


Diptych (black/white, top to bottom) emitted UV (320-390nm, Baader-U) vs emitted UV-B (313nm):


This reveals, that the broadband UV image shows a much broader, but less detailed gas flame, the 313nm image however, 313nm being the emission peak wavelength of the OH radical, shows a much more detailed flame image and is useful to judge how efficient the gas combustion process is.


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

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - Tropism Exhibit including Simulated Bee and Butterfly Vision

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Sat 20 June — Sun 27 Sept 2015 will host the first exhibition in Scotland by artists from the Dutch art collective Tropisme. "Featuring photographs of plants taken with unusual, often scientific, visualisation techniques, the exhibition provides a surprising and spectacularly different view on plants. Botanical installations located around the Garden will fuse art, poetry and science and combine audio, video and classic museum displays." It includes a video animation "Insecta Spectra" created by long time animation artist Robin Noorda which consists of some of my best simulated butterfly and bee vision works.

Works such as these were included, as well as an explanation of the background of insect vision in comparison to our human vision. Here for instance Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem artichoke) in human vision, simulated butterfly and bee vison (left to right)


Insects (butterflies, bees, ...) and some animals are able to see in ultraviolet (UV) light. Bees for instance can see Green and Blue and UV, but no Red, but butterflies and birds can see Red, Green, Blue and UV, and both able to see what we humans cannot see - UV. To make that visible for us humans, I have developed a special color mapping method, which allows to simulate, how we would see the world, if we had such special receptive eyes.

I hope you enjoy the beauty of the exhibit!

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

Carl Bosch Museum Heidelberg Special Exhibit Fascination Color with simulated bee and butterfly vision images

Today about a forthcoming special exhibit "fascination Color" at the Carl Bosch Museum, Heidelberg Germany which will be open from 12. September 2015 - 3. April 2016. Some of my best works will be shown in our human vision, and in simulated bee and butterfly vision.

Here the introductory text: "How do colors come into existence? What are colors used for? What really is color? These and many other questions are answered by the exhibition and illustrates how broad ranged the subject of colors actually is. With many exciting exhibits, visitors learn that we see colors not only with our eyes and experience how other people and animals see the colorful world. The symbolic and social meanings of colors are explained, as is the extraction and use of historic natural colors, up to modern industrial dyes." [translation by me]

(C) Carl Bosch Museum, Heidelberg

The Carl Bosch Museum has chosen some of my best works, as they show quite surprisingly how different bees and butterflies see the world, as compared to how we humans see it!

If you find time to, pay it a visit, it will certainly be worth going with your whole family!

The Carl Bosch Museum Heidelberg has been founded and is being actively supported by Gerda Tschira, wife of recently deceased SAP founding member Klaus Tschira . The non-profit Klaus Tschira Foundation promotes the advancement of natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science and strives to raise appreciation for these fields. 

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

San Francisco Science Museum - Color of Life Exhibit with Rudbeckia fulgida in reflected ultraviolet (UV) photography

Today about a new exhibit at the San Francisco Science Museum - Color of Life which has opened in June this year and which has some of my work in it. They included my Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii outside shots in visible and ultraviolet light.

A glipse of the exhibit, located in several areas totalling an impressive 8.000sqft:

(C) California Science Museum

The Science Museum has chosen my work, as the petals of this R. fulgida exhibit a very prominent "bullseye" UV pattern, visible to bees and butterflies, but invisible to us humans.

Diptych of R. fulgida var deamii (left to right): Human vison, reflected UV:


This flower is reflecting UV strongly around 365nm at its petal tips (shown in yellow) with otherwise dark parts and hence creates a very distinct UV "bullseye pattern" nectar guide for its pollinators and all this gets nicely visible here.

If you find time to, pay it a visit, certainly worth going!!

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

European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris in reflected ultraviolet photography

Today shots of a well known, attractive bird, an European Starling - Sturnus vulgaris in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter. Lens was my UV-PL f2 62mm 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]

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



This attractive bird has iridescent feathers with a metallic magenta shine around his throat, chest and back, which reflect at maximum under a 45 degree reflection angle, however it also reflects UV quite strongly, peaking at around 365nm (shown as yellow) and to a much lesser quantity around 385m (shown as purple), invisible to us humans (but made visible here using special photographic methods), and all this gets nicely visible.

HERE is more about bird vision and how to simulate what birds might see.

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

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