The Invisible Light That Plants Emit

[elsa hoffmann]

C P Burrows:
I Photographed The Invisible Light That Plants Emit -
I've photographed hundreds of glowing flowers since 2014 after seeing Oleksandr Holovachov's work with ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence (UVIVF) photography.
Each time I do a set of UVIVF photos, it starts with going out under the cover of darkness to snatch unsuspecting flowers growing around the neighborhood. I rarely know what to expect from a flower before I get it back to shoot. Some I think will dazzle end up flopping, and others I am surprised by their colors or light. Every one is a surprise!
In the same way a tee-shirt blue glows under a black light, most organic material glows at least a little with UV stimulation and in all kinds of colors. To make the most of it, I make sure I'm working in the darkest environment I can and use a 365nm light so the camera can't see the UV light.
Any time the flowers are hit by sunlight, they're letting off their own glow in response and it's simply overwhelmed by the sunlight we can see. These photos capture something we always see, but never can observe.
More info: cpburrows.com

http://www.boredpanda.com/i-photograph-flowers-hidden-light-with/

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Thanks for the pointer. Many of the authors on our 'sister' site, http://ultavioletphotography.com, now present results of UVIFV (ultraviolet induced visible fluorescence) for flowers and other natural subjects. Always astonishing appearances to behold. So it is good to see the stuff getting attention from a wider audience.

A small technical nit-pick, which really goes to the originator ( C.P.Purrows) : plants usually don't emit light, they reflect it, more or less unaltered. Bioluminescence is known in some parts of the plant kingdom, but doesn't depend on light as such.

We don't know for certain what - if any - evolutionary significance UVIVF has in Nature. Maybe it is just a spurious result from internal biochemical processes occurring in the plant's foliage and floral parts. Still, the often dramatic difference in UVIVF from say nectaria vs other parts of the flowers can tickle our imagination.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

UVIVF can be pressed into service as a photographic tool on its own. Use some substance or liquid that really has high fluorescence and play with this to your heart's content. Effects can be highly enjoyable.

If you don't wish to use fluorescing paint, Tonic Water is a familiar source for excellent fluorescence. Here it is used to illustrate Liebig's law of the minimum ('Law of the Minimum'), a law applicable to agriculture and ecology in general. I employed a broken wine glass to this end before throwing it into the bin.

[bobfriedman]

LWUV-induced resonance fluorescence

[Akira]

Elsa, this is an interesting read, and the sampled images are beautiful.

FWIW, my avatar is also a UVIVF campanula.   

[MFloyd]

UVIVF can be pressed into service as a photographic tool on its own. Use some substance or liquid that really has high fluorescence and play with this to your heart's content. Effects can be highly enjoyable.

If you don't wish to use fluorescing paint, Tonic Water is a familiar source for excellent fluorescence. Here it is used to illustrate Liebig's law of the minimum ('Law of the Minimum'), a law applicable to agriculture and ecology in general. I employed a broken wine glass to this end before throwing it into the bin.

Much sexier than Liebig's Barrel 

[elsa hoffmann]

I em enjoying the replies - thank you

[David H. Hartman]

What kind of lamps are used for this type of photography?

Do I understand that the camera used is standard visable light dSLR?

Is a filter used on the lens? Is a Nikon L37c or L39 acceptable?

Thanks!

Dave

[Roland Vink]

We don't know for certain what - if any - evolutionary significance UVIVF has in Nature.

Many brightly coloured flowers use this effect so they appear brighter than other flowers which reflect just visible light. A flower which is more eye-catching to potential pollinators will have an evolutionary advantage.

[Akira]

What kind of lamps are used for this type of photography?

Do I understand that the camera used is standard visable light dSLR?

Is a filter used on the lens? Is a Nikon L37c or L39 acceptable?
Dave

I use a 365nm UV torch called Tank007 bought from ebay to induce the visible fluorescence.  The torch emits a slight amount of visible light which is cut by a Baadar U (UV bandpass) filter.  You need nothing special on the camera or the lens, not even L37/39/41C filters, so long as the UV light source contains no visible portion, and you take the pictues in the total darkness.

Here's another humble example: UVIVF Oncidium.

[elsa hoffmann]

Just picked this up on NAT GEO

The inside workings of plants are the unexplored frontier of botany. What happens when a nematode or fungus attacks a crop? How does this stress affect the plant, and how does it physically change the roots, stem, and flowers?

Japanese researchers have devised a way to find out: Make the plant transparent. With a chemical bath, they reduce the plant’s visible chlorophyll, the pigment that makes it green. Days to weeks later the entire plant becomes clear, and scientists can observe its inside tissue at a cellular level.

and for more:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/05/explore-transparent-plants/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_fb20170505ngm-transparentplants&utm_campaign=Content&sf75016501=1

[David H. Hartman]

How are the plant scientist going to improve tobacco? More nicotine, less tar? Maybe fire retardant tobacco? "Spit thou only in the corner." (Massachusetts Bay Colony Etiquette).

I thought all they had to do was splice in a few genes from a squid and Monsanto!

Oh no, they say he's got to go go go Godzilla
Oh no, there goes Tokyo go go Godzilla

History shows again and again
How nature points up the folly of men

--BOC

Elsa,

Your plant scientist are scaring me.

Dave

[elsa hoffmann]

David - as far as photography goes - interesting photo opportunities I suppose. Fascinating indeed. We want to document everything in any way we can - never-mind what it takes to get there. And we also use photos as proof of what we see.

The off-topic part of this article (and ye it is more about that, than photography):  modified food has been with us for a couple of decades. The results of research is "spectacular" and yields in crops phenomenal. Nothing less. Apart from the fact that it kills us and the environment, which seems to be less important as money talks loudly. But then - why should this have the exclusive on destroying the world. Us humans do a pretty good job  - essentially acting like viruses -  to keep destroying the planet till there is nothing left.

In the interim - to be philosophical - we, who shoot, - document the whole process. It's like a war - you cover it from deployment -  to death..... No one wins, except the arms suppliers.
Don't shoot the messenger.

[Castorelle]

LWUV-induced resonance fluorescence

Hi! I´m new here...
Congratulation for these pictures!! They are amazing!!
If you don`t mind... how did you do them?
I´m studying to take photos with UV light... I have a 365nm UV light and a IR filter, but all the photos get very dark... even with 3 minutes of long exposure. I can´t see nothing. I already tried to correct the exposure at photoshop, but the flower doesn`t show up. !

[Castorelle]

I use a 365nm UV torch called Tank007 bought from ebay to induce the visible fluorescence.  The torch emits a slight amount of visible light which is cut by a Baadar U (UV bandpass) filter.  You need nothing special on the camera or the lens, not even L37/39/41C filters, so long as the UV light source contains no visible portion, and you take the pictues in the total darkness.

Here's another humble example: UVIVF Oncidium.

Hi! So we need to use the filter on the UV light? I put it on the lens... And my filter is a IR filter. The filter must be UV, not IR? Sorry, I don´t understand these things very well... And the UV light must be invisible? The one I bought is invisible during the day, but at the dark I can see the "blue light". So this one can`t be used? (Sorry for any English`s mistake, I speak portuguese)