Today in March 2021 more shots of an Orchid hybride, Oncostele Wildcat 'Golden Red Star' in reflected ultraviolet photography as well as simulated bee and butterfly vision shot with my "work horse" UV-Nikkor f4.5/105mm quartz fluorite lens. UV filter used was the Baader-U filter, my "work horse" filter for reflected UV as well as my proprietary XBV filters for simulated bee and butterfly vision. All shots were done at f8. Light source used was a modified for high UV output Xenon flash. I have additionally used a 365nm UV LED for better focusing, (which unfortunately has influenced the white balance somewhat, in case you wonder).
[click on image to see a larger one]
Human Vision (VIS):
Reflected UV (Baader-U):
Simulated Butterfly Vision:
Simulated Bee Vision:
Quadriptych of human vision, UV, simulated butterfly and bee vision (left to right, top to bottom):
This orchid has a very specific UV pattern, its petals are very UV dark, but its lower petal lip shows on the lower center a very UV
bright spot which gets nicely visible.
The UV-Nikkor 105mm lens is known to be a very well working one, with a nice close up 1:2 focus capability from infinity up to 48cm (0.48 meter). Sharpness is very good and so is contrast, even from f4.5 onwards. With a Nikon PN-11 extension tube of 52.5mm length it reaches 1:1 (1x) magnification. It has the standard Nikon-F mount, and it covers full format sensors (41mm image diameter). It is defined to reach down to 190nm and up to 1300nm in near infrared; my measured transmission spectra of it may be seen here.
I have written more about this orchid 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
