"Invisible Beauty" FotoTalk - Reiss Museum Mannheim

On April 7 this year, I gave a presentation about my works and insect vs human vision at Reiss-Engelhorm-Museum, Mannheim, Germany at the historical Zeughaus.

I presented some of my works as well as detailled explanations of insect vision in comparison to our human vision, also using a video presentation made for the forthcoming "Photosynthesis" exhibit at Hortus Botanicus, Amsterdam. A lively discussion followed, as to most people this topic was hardly ever heard of.

Insects (butterflies, Bees, ...) and animals (birds, fish, degus,..), at least some specialized ones, 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 and Blue and UV, so both can see what we humans cannot see - UV. To make that visible for us humans, I developed an optical mapping method, which allows to simulate, how we would see the world, if we had such special receptive eyes.



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

Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam exhibit - bee butterfly insect vision reflected UV photography video

In June this year, one of the oldest botanical gardens, 375 years old, the Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam, The Netherlands will host an photographic art exhibition called "Photosynthesis", 1 June - 16 Sept 2013 of art group Tropisme. Together with curator and long time animation artist Robin Noorda I have contributed some of my works, which were made into a video presentation, named "Insecta Spectra".

Some of my works such as these were included, as well as an explanation of the background of insect vision in comparison to our human vision.

Insects (butterflies, Bees, ...) and animals (birds, fish, degus,..), at least some specialized ones, 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 and Blue and UV, so both can see what we humans cannot see - UV. To make that visible for us humans, I developed an optical mapping method, which allows to simulate, how we would see the world, if we had such special receptive eyes.

Have a look at the preview video clip [click]:
The whole Tropism Photosynthesis presentation for Hortus Botanicus may be seen here on their site.

I hope you enjoy the beauty of flowers in different visions!

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

Invisible World Photography - some best of reflected ultraviolet, bee + butterfly vision II

Here a few of my works as shown before, today presented in quadriptych form, which will be on exhibit, also available as large format prints, just for enjoyment for the nice readers here I thought. Please be fair, respect my work and do not download or distribute those around. I don't mind linking, if proper credit is given to me as is visible in each image, but do ask me first please.

Also those comprise some 10 years of intense work to make visible the beauty around us, even if it is invisible to our human eyes. All colors shown are real, there when I pressed the trigger, no photoshopping done except fine adjustments, using specialized cameras, special filters, special lightsources and very special lenses. The differences in colors visiblem results from the different UV reflection of those flowers, some do not reflect at all, or differently in different parts of the flower.

Some insects (butterflies, Bees, ...) and animals (birds, fish, degus,..) can see ultraviolet (UV) light, bees for instance can see Green and Blue and UV, but no RED but butterflies and birds can see Red, Green and Blue and UV, so both can see what we humans cannot see, so I developed an optical mapping method, which allows to simulate, how we would see the world, if we had such special receptive eyes.

Some of my technique is described in my BLOG uvir.eu and I also teach and lecture about that. Ask me if there is some interest, I'm happy to come by!

[click on image to see a larger one]

Zinnia hybride (visible, simulated butterfly, bee vision and ultraviolet UV):

 



Rudbeckia hirta (visible, simulated butterfly, bee vision and ultraviolet UV):

 



Gazania sp. (visible, simulated butterfly, bee vision and ultraviolet UV):

 



Zinnia angustifolia (1st: visible, bee vision, long wave ultraviolet UV, ultraviolet UV stimulated visible fluorescence; 2nd: short wave ultraviolet UV, shorter wave ultraviolet UV, ultraviolet UV stimulated visible fluorescence, near infrared IR):

 
 

watch here, there will be more to come...

I hope you enjoy the beauty!

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

Invisible World Photography - some best of reflected ultraviolet, bee + butterfly vision

Here a few of my works, which will be on exhibit soon and also available as large format prints, just some "eye candy" for the nice readers here I thought. Please be fair, respect my work and do not download or distribute those around. I don't mind linking, if proper credit is given to me as is visible in each image, but do ask me first please.

These comprise some 10 years of intense work to make visible the beauty around us, even if it is invisible to our human eyes. All colors shown are real, there when I pressed the trigger, no photoshopping done except fine adjustments, using specialized cameras, special filters, special lightsources and very special lenses. The differences in colors visiblem results from the different UV reflection of those flowers, some do not reflect at all, or differently in different parts of the flower.

Some insects and animals (birds, fish, degus,..) can see ultraviolet (UV) light, bees for instance can see Green and Blue and UV, but no RED but butterflies and birds can see Red, Green and Blue and UV, so both can see what we humans cannot see, so I developed an optical mapping method, which allows to simulate, how we would see the world, if we had such special receptive eyes.

Some of my technique is described in my BLOG uvir.eu and I also teach and lecture about that. Ask me if there is some interest, I'm happy to come by!

[click on image to see a larger one]

Zinnia hybride (visible, ultraviolet UV, simulated butterfly and bee vision):

 

 

 

 



Rudbeckia hirta (visible, ultraviolet UV, simulated butterfly and bee vision):

 

 

 

 



Gazania sp. (visible, ultraviolet UV, simulated butterfly and bee vision):

 

 

 

 


There is a part II HERE.

I hope you enjoy the beauty!

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

Three 40mm lenses for reflected UV photography

Today about a comparison of three lenses of 40mm focal length for reflected UV, one a Cooke Triplet (C40), one a Dialyte design (D40), one a complex Sonnar design (S40) whose makers will be revealed here later - or simply contact me about it. The best of the three will also compared against the Kuribayashi 35mm. I'm using a yellow/red Phalaenopsis flower for that and my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter. Light source was an UV enhanced Xenon flash. All shots were done at f8 and are presented in a side-a-side format for easier comparison.

[click on image to see a larger one]

UV image using the Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm, effective peak approx. 375nm) - Cooke left, Dialyte middle, Sonnar right:
 

Here the three contestants present themselves side-a-side: It gets obvious, that the Sonnar is the softest of the three and has a bit less UV transmission (the latter had to be expected). The Cooke triplet lens and especially the Dialyte however show some respectable sharpness. So lets's have a closer look at the latter two.

UV image using the Baader-U filter - Cooke left, Dialyte right:
 

Here, the Dialyte has an edge over the Triplet, quite higher micro-contrast and higher detail reproduction, quite remarkable, considering it is an old prewar lens, and uncoated. So let's see how that Dialyte performs against the Kuribayashi 35mm.

UV image using the Baader-U filter - Dialyte lft, Kuribayashi 35mm right:
 

Here now it is hard to choose a winner, as both have very high sharpness and contrast, quite remarkable considering their age difference. I'm undicided honestly.

Transmission graph:
 

The Triplet is represented by a yellow line, the Dialyte by a reddish brown line, the Sonnar by a blue line and finally the Kuribayashi by a pink line. Transmisson of all lenses is quite high, at 365nm Sonnar: 60%, Dialyte: 64%, Triplet: 70% and finally the Kuribayashi 77%. Their reach into UV is quite remarkable, the Kuribayashi and Dialyte having the deepest, Triplet surprisingly the least, maybe caused by its bluish coating. So overall, some remarkable lenses for reflected UV.

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

35mm BESLAR enlarger lens for reflected UV photography

Today again about a simple, but as it turned out, quite UV capable BESLAR f3.5/35mm enlarger lens. I have done a similar enlarger lens comparison for a 100mm lens here and here and a comparison for 50mm lenses previously here. I'm using a yellow/red Phalaenopsis flower for that and my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter plus the deeper reaching Jupiter-U filter. Light source was an UV enhanced Xenon flash. All shots were done at f8 and are presented in a side-a-side format for easier comparison.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Images showing on the left a visible light image and on the right using the Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm, effective peak approx. 375nm):
 

UV images using shown on the left the Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm, effective peak approx. 375nm) and on the right my Jupiter-U filter (approx. 280-385nm, effective peak approx. 365nm):
 

UV detail images using shown on the left the Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm, effective peak approx. 375nm) and on the right my Jupiter-U filter (approx. 280-385nm, effective peak approx. 365nm):
 

Transmission graph:
 

Well, this little enlarger lens performs acceptably well, seemingly has quite a high UV transmission of about 80% and quite a deep reach into the UV region to about 320nm (white line), compared to my new standard 35mm lens (green line), the Kuribayashi 35mm. I also tested a rebadged version under a different moniker (pink line) which seems to perform about identical.


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

Anemone narcissiflora - Cerco 94mm Quartz Fluorite lens for reflected ultraviolet photography

Today about some early spring flowers, here Anemone narcissiflora (most likely, but looks like a white variant of Liverwort "Anemone hepatica") in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter as well as my XBV filters for simulating butterfly and bee vision. Lens was a CERCO 94mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was sunlight. All shots were done at about f5.6. So, on to the results now...

[click on image to see a larger one]

Visible light image:
 

UV image using Baader-U filter (approx. 320-395nm, effective peak approx. 375nm):
 

Simulated butterfly vision (UV - VIS) using XBV3 filter:
 

Simulated bee vision (UV - VIS) using XBV6 filter:
 

Quadtryptich of the above:
 


This Anemone has only a very slight UV pattern, its center is UV dark and this gets nicely visible.


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