Palmengarten Frankfurt / Main Germany showing kids invisible to us bee and butterfly vision

Today about my works being used with my permission by the Palmengarten Botanical Garden Frankfurt/ Main Germany. Their idea was to show kindergarden kids how bees and butterflies see the world including their ability to see reflected ultraviolet (UV) light. 

They chose to use some attractive flower pictures of mine: Taraxacum and Gazania which were shot by me in reflected ultraviolet photography, simulated bee and butterfly vision. All shots were done at f8 in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter, as well as my XBV filters for simulated bee and butterfly vision. Lens was a UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was Xenon flash light.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Taraxcacum Human vision:
 

Taraxacum Bee Vision:
 

Taraxacum Butterfly Vision:
 

Gazania Human vision:
 

Gazania bee vision:
 

Gazania butterfly vision:
 

These flowers outer petals strongly reflect UV around 365nm, whereas the stamens are quite darker, hence forming UV nectar guides for UV seeing insects. This is all invisible to us humans, but clearly visible to bees and butterflies, and all this will be nicely visible to the kids and visitors at Palmengarten Botanical Garden Frankfurt/Main Germany

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 

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

Rare lenses on forthcoming auction incl. special lenses for UV (pt I)

I will auction off some (very) rare lenses at a forthcoming auction including special lenses for UV photography. Auction will start on: May 17, 2025 10:00 AM CET (Central European Summer Time)

Part I will be auctioned; see details here in that link to the mflenses site (I'm admin there):

List of rare Lenses on auction/viewtopic,p,1591664.html#1591664 

Part II will happen this autumn...

Texas State Park Authorities showing Rudbeckia hirta UV patterns at Lake Sommerville Park

Today about my works being used with my permission by the Texas State Park Authorities. Their idea is to show visitors how differently bees and butterflies see the world, including their ability to see reflected ultraviolet (UV) light in one of their state parks, the Lake Sommerville Park.

They chose to use an attractive yellow flower, a Rudbeckia hirta, which were shot by me in reflected ultraviolet photography, simulated bee and butterfly vision. All shots were done at f8 in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter, as well as my XBV filters for simulated bee and butterfly vision. Lens was a UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was a modified Xenon studio flash, modified for high UV output.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Human vision:
 

Reflected UV:
 

Simulated butterfly vision:
 

Simulated bee vision:
 

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

Rudbeckia hirta's outer petals strongly reflect UV around 365nm, whereas its center parts are quite darker, reflecting around 365nm, hence forming UV nectar guides for UV seeing insects. This is all invisible to us humans, but clearly visible to bees and butterflies, and all this will be nicely visible to the visitors at Lake Sommerville State Park, TX USA.

I have written more about this 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 

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

Nature in Brilliant Colour exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada showing butterfly vision

I have been asked by the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Queens Park, Toronto Canada for permission to exhibit a series of images to simulate the vision of butterflies at their forthcoming exhibit "Nature in Brilliant Colour " which is a travelling exhibit originally developed by the Field Museum Chicago. The exhibition will run from 14 December 2024 to 17 August 2025.

For that exhibit I chose images of a Rudbeckia hirta flower Black Eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta which I had shot using visible and reflected ultraviolet photography. All shots were then done at f8 in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter, as well as my XBV filters for simulated animal vision. Lens was a UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was a modified Xenon flash.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Human vision:
 

Simulated butterfly vision:
 

I chose Rudbeckia hirta, as it has a strong UV pattern, its petal tips are UV bright around 365nm, but its center is quite UV dark, so this gets quite nicely visible, hence why I used this flower here to simulate butterfly vision.

 
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

Kaunergrat Nature Park Tyrol Austria shows St. John's wort - Hypericum in reflected ultraviolet photography and simulated bee and butterfly vision

Today about my works being used with my permission by the Naturpark Kaunergrat (Pitztal – Fließ – Kaunertal) in Tyrol / Austria. Their idea was to show visitors how bees and butterflies see the world including their ability to see reflected ultraviolet (UV) light. 

They chose to use an attractive yellow flower, a St. John's wort - Hypericum sp. which were shot by me in reflected ultraviolet photography, simulated bee and butterfly vision. All shots were done at f8 in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter, as well as my XBV filters for simulated bee and butterfly vision. Lens was a UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was sunlight.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Human vision:
 

Reflected UV:
 

Simulated butterfly vision:
 

Simulated bee vision:
 

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

Hypericum's outer petals strongly reflect UV around 365nm, whereas its stamens are quite darker, reflecting around 385nm, hence forming UV nectar guides for UV seeing insects. This is all invisible to us humans, but clearly visible to bees and butterflies, and all this will be nicely visible to the visitors at Kaunergrat nature park Tyrol, Austria.

I have written more about this 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 Those shown multispectral images of mine where shot in my studio with my "work horse" UV-Nikkor f4.5/105mm quartz fluorite lens using the Baader UV/IR Cut filter and my proprietary XBV filters for simulated bee + butterfly vision. Light source in studio used was a Xenon flash modified for high UV output outside.

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

Winter Jasmine - Jasminum Nudiflorum in reflected ultraviolet photography and simulated bee and butterfly vision VII

Today in Decmber 2024 shots of a beautiful winter flower, a Winter Jasmine - Jasminum nudiflorum in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter, as well as in simulated bee and butterfly vision using my propriatary XBV filters. All shots were done at f11. Lens was a UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was a modified Xenon flash.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Human vision:
 

Reflected ultraviolet (UV):
 

Simulated bee vision:
 

Simulated butterfly vision:
 

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

This flower shows a very prominent and strong UV reflection around 365nm on its petals, but its center is UV-dark, and all this gets nicely visible, also in simulated bee and butterfly vision.
 
Stay tuned, more will follow on that fascinating subject...


I have previously written about this flower HERE

More info on this very interesting field may be found on my site http://www.pbase.com/kds315/uv_photos

Rudbeckia hirta - Human vs simulated animal vision II: butterfly, bee, dog, horse, bat

I was asked by a member working for their program Jeux Photoniques at the Université Laval in Québec, Canada for a series of images to simulate the vision of different animals. I used images of a Rudbeckia hirta flower Black Eyed Susan - Rudbeckia hirta which I had shot using visible and reflected ultraviolet photography. All shots were then done at f8 in reflected ultraviolet photography using my "work horse" UV filter, the Baader-U filter, as well as my XBV filters for simulated animal vision. Lens was a UV-Nikkor 105mm quartz fluorite lens. Light source was a modified Xenon flash.

[click on image to see a larger one]

Human vision:
 

Simulated butterfly vision:
 

Simulated bee vision:
 

Simulated dog vision:
 

Simulated horse vision:
 

Simulated bat vision:
 

Hexaptych of the above:
 

The idea behind these mappings is, to demonstrate the different forms of vision, including the ability to see UV and with this ability, to see patterns which only appear in ultraviolet light (UV) but invisible to us humans.

 I chose Rudbeckia hirts, as it has a strong UV pattern, its petal tips are UV bright around 365nm, but its center is quite UV dark, so this gets quite nicely visible, hence why I used this flower here to simuate the following visions:

1. Humans have trichromatic vision, they see Blue, Green, Red
2. Butterflies see UV, Blue, Green, Red, they are Tetrachromats
3. Bees see UV, Blue, Green, they are Trichomats
4. Dogs are Dichromats, see Blue and Yellow, but also some UV
5. Horses are Dichromats, they see Blue and Yellow, but no UV
6. Bats do not see color, but some are sensitive to UV also

 
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