Black-eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta in reflected ultraviolet photography X

Today outside shots of a flower originating from the USA Prairie, a Black-eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter. All shots were done at f8. Lens was a rather rare Ultra Achromatic Takumar 4.5/85mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was afternoon sunlight.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Human vision:
 

Reflected UV:
 

Diptych of human vision, reflected UV (left to right, top to bottom):
 

This flower shows a very prominent UV bullseye pattern, as its petals are very UV bright (around 365nm) to about the middle and its center is very UV dark, and all this gets nicely visible.

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

Gasometer Oberhausen Museum, Wonders of Nature Exhibit 2016 III

Gasometer Oberhausen exhibit "Wonders of Nature" has reached more that 500.000 visitors so far and has just announced to extend the exhibit until 30.12.2016!

My contribution are some images of a Zinnia haageana flower in large prints, on display in their exhibition area below that globe, demonstrating the difference between our human vision, as well as a video presentation shown on LCD panel which originates from the BBC series "How to grow a planet - The hidden World of UV" which has several VIS and UV images of different flowers in it.

Printed image in background, LCD video display in foreground:


approx 3m / 9ft wide image:


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

The exhibit shows in total some 150 large images and video presentations by the most famous nature photographers and is not only visually stunning, but also highly educative and suited for interested individuals as well as families and schools. Go have a look, over 500.000 have already seen it, it will be well worth it!

There is also a book available about it: Wunder der Natur, Die Intelligenz der Schöpfung ISBN/EAN: 9783837514629 (in German language)

I have written about that exhibit previously HERE

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

Black-eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta in ultraviolet stimulated visible and IR fluorescence photography

Today more studio shots of a flower originating from the USA Prairie, a Black-eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta in visible light as well as ultraviolet stimulated visible and infrared fluorescence photography using suitable filters. All shots were done at f5.6. Lens was a UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was a high power Nichia 365nm UV LED, background was a dark gray.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Visible light:
 

UV stimulated visible fluorescence:
 

UV stimulated IR fluorescence (>680nm):
 

Triptych of visible light, UV stimulated visible fluorescence, UV stimulated IR fluorescence (left to right):
 

This flower shows interesting fluorescence including its bullseye pattern, but also some interesting UV stimulated IR fluorescence which reveals otherwise invsible petal structures, and all this gets nicely visible.

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

Black-eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta in reflected ultraviolet photography and simulated butterfly and bee vision IX

Today more studio shots of a flower originating from the USA Prairie, a Black-eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta 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 newer, enhanced XBV filters. All shots were done at f8. Lens was a UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was a modified Xenon flash, background was a dark gray. [These shots were done with a new camera system and are available on request in very high resolution (40 and 60 Mp)].

[click on image to see a larger one]

Human vision:
 

Reflected UV:
 

Simulated butterfly vision:
 

Simulated bee vision:
 

Quadriptych of human vision, UV, and simulated butterfly and bee vision (left to right, top to bottom):
 

This flower shows a very prominent UV bullseye pattern, as its petals are very UV bright (around 365nm) to about the middle and its center is very UV dark, and all this gets nicely visible, also in simulated butterfly and 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

How to stand out in the crowd - Gazania rigens shows its ecologic advantage vs Rudbeckia fulgida and Rudbeckia hirta using intense UV reflection IV

Today about how even some UV reflecting flowers (Gazania rigens) have achieved a competitive edge over other UV reflecting flowers (Rudbeckia fulgida) by making use of a specific very intense UV reflection around 370nm. This will be shown in human vision, in reflected ultraviolet photography and also by using reflection spectrometry. I was using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter for reflected UV and a calibrated UV-VIS USB2000 spectrometer with stabilized Xenon lightsource.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Rudbeckia fulgida + R. hirta vs white Gazania rigens, visible image:  

Rudbeckia fulgida + R. hirta vs white Gazania rigens, reflected UV image:  

Reflection spectrometry result of Rudbeckia fulgida vs white Gazania rigens (UV bright petal tip):  

In visible light, all these flowers are rather bright yellow / orange (Rudbeckia) and white (Gazania) to our human eye. But the white Gazania rigens compared to the Rudbeckia fulgida flower shows an even more prominent and bright bullseye pattern in reflected UV (only visible to bees and butterflies), as its outer petals are very UV bright (around 370nm) with a UV reflection above 60%, compared to the other UV reflecting flower with only about 10% UV reflection of its petal tips, which makes this Gazania clearly even more visible in UV, hence creating an impressive competitive edge in terms of chances for getting pollinated even against those other flowers with UV bullseye pattern - and all this gets nicely visible.

I have written HERE about it before.

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

Black-eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta in reflected ultraviolet photography and simulated butterfly and bee vision VIII

Today more studio shots of a flower originating from the USA Prairie, a Black-eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta 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 XBV filters. All shots were done at f8. Lens was a UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was a modified Xenon flash, background was a dark gray. [These shots were done with a new camera system and are available on request in very high resolution (40 and 60 Mp)].

[click on image to see a larger one]

Human vision:
 

Reflected UV:
 

Simulated butterfly vision:
 

Simulated bee vision:
 

Quadriptych of human vision, UV, and simulated butterfly and bee vision (left to right, top to bottom):
 

This flower shows a very prominent UV bullseye pattern, as its petals are very UV bright (around 365nm) to about the middle and its center is very UV dark, and all this gets nicely visible also in simulated butterfly and 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

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

Today another proof that reflected UV photography is doable at UV-B using several special, up to NIR blocked, narrowband filters and a different than before UV camera. Lens used was my UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz flourite lens. All shots were done at f11. Light source was a gas torch flame.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Double hexaptych (top to bottom) of Visual light; emitted UV 320-390nm, 310-350nm, 290-340nm, 280-315nm, 304-322nm. Right side is morphological gradient filtering of left side:


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

I have previously written about that HERE.

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