Fawn's Chandelier
This is such a fun UV fluorescence image, taken uncropped and only slightly edited from a Lumix S1R with the kit lens, and five Adaptalux UV lighting arms. Read on to head down the rabbit hole!
The name is believed to be a combination of two Greek words, “ellos/hellos” which means “fawn”, and “bora” meaning “food”. Looking like this flower could be hanging in a FernGully ballroom, that’s where the name of this image comes from. The more you know! :)
A behind-the-scenes photo of the setup will help with the rest of the description immensely, so here it is: donkom.ca/bts/_1090222.jpg . This image isn’t shot with a macro lens, and it isn’t cropped in any way. The Lumix S 24-105mm F/4 lens is more capable for macro photography than any other such lens I’ve used, making it even more versatile. The image needs to be photographed in complete darkness for the ultraviolet light to fluoresce and give off visible light, which is why I have layers of black cloth overtop which would completely cover the subject, with lights off, when taking the image.
The light source here was the Adaptalux lighting system with five UV lighting arms. One looks a little different as it was a prototype they had sent me during their product launch, but I purchased the other four as well as the control pod 2.0 which has a “boost” feature to really push the brightness of the lights at the end of controllable, flexible arms. I’ve used a lot of UV light sources, but this is the most consumer approachable. No modifying flashes with exotic filters, though you need complete darkness and longer exposures with higher ISO settings.
For those curious (you’re still reading, right?), the image was shot at F/18 for the greatest depth of field without compromising the resolution of a 47MP sensor, ISO 1600 and a 30sec exposure. I always do a test with the UV lights off before I go ahead, looking to see a completely dark image. If it’s pitch black, it means that the ambient light will not contaminate the scene. What you’re seeing here is UV from the Adaptalux arms and no ambient light. The speckled colours on the leaves are native to the cultivar (Helleborus Vavavoom Pink) and visible in regular light as well, but the fluorescence is due to its heritage.
Hellebores, also called Lenten Roses or Christmas Roses, are part of the Buttercup family. I’ve seen some very interesting fluorescence as well as ultraviolet reflectance – the light that insects can see – produce unexpected results here. We have some Marsh Marigolds, also in the same family, that produce a very deep and dark pattern to attract pollinators ( www.flickr.com/photos/donkom/34783610615/ ). I’d love the opportunity to explore more flowers in this family and others to uncover the secrets that they hide, like this Chandelier of light visible only to those who see the world differently.
Want to get inside my head beyond this description? I hold photo workshops, and you can get a list of them here: www.donkom.ca/workshops/
Fawn's Chandelier
This is such a fun UV fluorescence image, taken uncropped and only slightly edited from a Lumix S1R with the kit lens, and five Adaptalux UV lighting arms. Read on to head down the rabbit hole!
The name is believed to be a combination of two Greek words, “ellos/hellos” which means “fawn”, and “bora” meaning “food”. Looking like this flower could be hanging in a FernGully ballroom, that’s where the name of this image comes from. The more you know! :)
A behind-the-scenes photo of the setup will help with the rest of the description immensely, so here it is: donkom.ca/bts/_1090222.jpg . This image isn’t shot with a macro lens, and it isn’t cropped in any way. The Lumix S 24-105mm F/4 lens is more capable for macro photography than any other such lens I’ve used, making it even more versatile. The image needs to be photographed in complete darkness for the ultraviolet light to fluoresce and give off visible light, which is why I have layers of black cloth overtop which would completely cover the subject, with lights off, when taking the image.
The light source here was the Adaptalux lighting system with five UV lighting arms. One looks a little different as it was a prototype they had sent me during their product launch, but I purchased the other four as well as the control pod 2.0 which has a “boost” feature to really push the brightness of the lights at the end of controllable, flexible arms. I’ve used a lot of UV light sources, but this is the most consumer approachable. No modifying flashes with exotic filters, though you need complete darkness and longer exposures with higher ISO settings.
For those curious (you’re still reading, right?), the image was shot at F/18 for the greatest depth of field without compromising the resolution of a 47MP sensor, ISO 1600 and a 30sec exposure. I always do a test with the UV lights off before I go ahead, looking to see a completely dark image. If it’s pitch black, it means that the ambient light will not contaminate the scene. What you’re seeing here is UV from the Adaptalux arms and no ambient light. The speckled colours on the leaves are native to the cultivar (Helleborus Vavavoom Pink) and visible in regular light as well, but the fluorescence is due to its heritage.
Hellebores, also called Lenten Roses or Christmas Roses, are part of the Buttercup family. I’ve seen some very interesting fluorescence as well as ultraviolet reflectance – the light that insects can see – produce unexpected results here. We have some Marsh Marigolds, also in the same family, that produce a very deep and dark pattern to attract pollinators ( www.flickr.com/photos/donkom/34783610615/ ). I’d love the opportunity to explore more flowers in this family and others to uncover the secrets that they hide, like this Chandelier of light visible only to those who see the world differently.
Want to get inside my head beyond this description? I hold photo workshops, and you can get a list of them here: www.donkom.ca/workshops/