View allAll Photos Tagged iridescence!
Backyard
Florida
USA
Juvenile grackle begging for food. Taken on my fence in the back yard.
The common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) is a large icterid which is found in large numbers through much of North America.
Adult common grackles measure from 28 to 34 cm (11 to 13 in) in length, span 36–46 cm (14–18 in) across the wings and weigh 74–142 g (2.6–5.0 oz). Common grackles are less sexually dimorphic than larger grackle species but the differences between the sexes can still be noticeable. The male, which averages 122 g (4.3 oz), is larger than the female, at an average of 94 g (3.3 oz). Adults have a long, dark bill, pale yellowish eyes and a long tail; its feathers appear black with purple, green or blue iridescence on the head, and primarily bronze sheen in the body plumage.
The breeding habitat is open and semi-open areas across North America east of the Rocky Mountains. The nest is a well-concealed cup in dense trees (particularly pine) or shrubs, usually near water; sometimes, the common grackle will nest in cavities or in man-made structures. It often nests in colonies, some being quite large. Bird houses are also a suitable nesting site. There are four to seven eggs.
This bird is a permanent resident in much of its range. Northern birds migrate in flocks to the southeastern United States. – Wikipedia
I love the sparkling iridescence of this blue butterfly!
Thin film interference, the same principle behind soap bubbles, apples to butterfly wings as well. Butterfly wings amplify the effects of iridescence because they have many more layers for the light to pass through and many more opportunities for the light waves to reflect and magnify one another.
Though small, butterfly wings are covered by thousands of microscopic scales, split into two to three layers -- thus their Greek order name, Lepidoptera, meaning scaled wings. In turn, each scale has multiple layers separated by air. Rather than having just the constructive interference from the top and bottom layer that you have in a bubble, the many, equally spaced layers of butterfly wings create multiple instances of constructive interference.
Heliconius doris
Wings of the Tropics, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami FL
Colours change. In the morning light red shines out bright and clear and the blues merge into their surroundings melting into the greens, By the evening the reds loose their piquancy embracing a quieter tone and shifting toward the blues in the rainbow. Yellow remains bright and white becomes luminous, shining like ghostly figures against a darkening green background.
~ Rosemary Verey
Common Grackle is very aggressive it will steal food from other birds,
when feeding most of the seeds windup on the ground,
they will then fly down and finish up the rest,
I love the Iridescence colors on their neck.
My reason for shooting this was to illustrate the vast difference in size between the redhead ducks and the young mute swan. However, something else has since caught my eye. The very subtle, purple iridescence of a redhead is surprisingly difficult to photograph. In 2015 I spent an entire month traveling to Cayuga lake hoping to catch it with no success. Look at this group of redheads and you can see that only one really exhibits that feature, the duck left of the swan. It's subtle, but definitely there. 'bout time! Thank you Lake Ontario! Now to get something a wee bit closer.
Glossy Ibis - In The Wild - Autumn '21
Green Cay Wetlands - Sept 23rd, 2021
South Florida - Palm Beach County, FL
*[left-double-click for a closer-look - pretty feather iridescence]
*[catch them 'just right' and their feathers are Gloriously Glossy!]
Their plumage appears dark, almost blackish, at a distance or in
poor light. At close range, much of the body is maroon, with the wing coverts showing metallic green, bronze, and violet tones. Glossy Ibises frequent almost any wetland environment with shallow water or exposed mud and also readily feeds in farm fields or open areas where soils are moist. - Sheen is amazing! Fun to observe.
I have about 20-30 Pigeons that show up very day to raid my feeding station. They will sit in the tall cottonwoods trees behind the house and wait for me to go inside. Then they swoop down in mass and devour all the bird seed within minutes.
I finally relented and bought a 50 pound bag of pigeon feed to mix with my regular mix.
They love it.
Many years ago back in Michigan we raised Show Pigeons and had two big pigeon lofts.
So, I still have a soft spot for pigeons.
This particular pigeon has overcome its fear and will let me get close (5-6 feet) from it and take head shots. The rest fly into the trees as soon as they see me.
I love the beautiful iridescence on the feathers.
Yesterday, we got our first snow. So, of course I was out photographing the fox.
There was a light wet snow coming down the whole time I was there. Hard to keep the camera dry.
I also saw 3 moose on my drive out to the fox.
One cow and two medium sized bulls that were fighting. But, the bulls were on the other side of a fence and it was still dark out.
So, I just watched.
No pictures.
Did get quite a few of the fox.
Also, saw a new fox to the area. It is a beauty.
Hopefully, I'll be able to get some closeups of it if the future.
Camera Settings: f/4 - 1/320 - 230mm - ISO 640
This was my second encounter with a Satin Flycatcher. The first one was two years ago in Wilsons Promontory. This time the bird was also moving constantly in rather dense thicket along the Two Bays Walking Track on Mornington Peninsula. But there was a moment in the sun...
(Myiagra cyanoleuca)
This ring-necked duck was with several others and among the geese at Gunner's Lake in Germantown, Maryland. I love the interesting purple iridescence on their head and neck.
Captured 26 February 2016.
Great theme for todays Smile on Saturday group, as I'm surrounded by wrapping paper and golden ribbons!
And as wrapping is today's fun job too, it works for photo of the day.
Happy SoS!
I wish the light had caught the iridescence better. They have the prettiest colors when in breeding plumage. I think starlings listen for worms like American Robins do. This one seemed to be, and caught a worm seconds later.
GAMBIA TOUR 2018.
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METALLIC BRONZY iridescence colors shown in certain light, but a real beauty. The Kotu area is lucky to have a small group resident in the area, as they are fairly rare, and difficult to approach . Normally associated with water, found in marshes, rice paddies and riverine forest, probing or picking up molluscs, aquatic worms, and diving beetles. Extremely noisy at dawn and dusk. Loved seeing them, but wonder for how much longer?
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THANK YOU, for being a friend, love reading your comments, hope your weekend is going well, stay safe, God bless............. ...............Tomx
"Weave Jesus into your life today!"
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A bit over exposed Pink "Full" Moon shows some iridescence around the moon including pink (maybe). Cirrostratus clouds were primed for creating this atmosphere optical phenomena.
Picture of the day x 2
Two images combined of an iridescent metal plate used to hold furniture together, with lots of adjustments.
Cloud iridescence or irisation is a colorful optical phenomenon that occurs in a cloud and appears in the general proximity of the Sun or Moon. The colors resemble those seen in soap bubbles and oil on a water surface.
Sometimes, the reflections on the water can be amazing.
One lake that I usually go to, is a mess this year. For some reason there are huge mats of nasty scummy weeds covering a lot of it. So, I have been holding off going there. I keep hoping that they will disappear. Also, the Cottonwoods are just starting to release their fluffy white seeds. In a bad year in can look like it is snowing, there are so many floating in the air.
I thought this shot almost looks like a painting.
Camera Settings: f/5.6 - 1/500 - 250mm - ISO 320
Took a snowcoach tour while we were in Yellowstone...a great way to experience the park interior since most roads are closed to passenger vehicles. Walked around Porcelain Basin, located at the Norris Geyser Basin, which is always so much more magical in the midst of winter. As we were walking down the boardwalk, I happened to glance back and managed to capture the steam from the thermal features as the sunlight filtered through the trees. Couldn't pass it up :-)
Have a great Tuesday, and as always, thanks for all your visits and comments!!!!! Hoping to catch up with everyone sometime this week in between processing images and catching up with work.
© Darlene Bushue - All of my images are protected by copyright and may not be used on any site, blog, or forum without my permission.
We just happened shoot sunset at this location because were were in between choosing to shoot at either Salt Creek or at the Superstition Mountains. We were saying the night at Lost Dutchman State Park, and wanted to check out Salt Creek for potential photo spots. We had never visited Salt Creek and needed to scout out the area first; but as we arrived at Salt Creek, the area looked good but the photo opportunities didn't look spectacular. So we rushed back towards our campground at Lost Dutchman.
We stayed the previous night at Lost Dutchman and did a brief 2 hour walk around the trails trying to find potential compositions for a sunrise/sunset, but had no luck. By now we arrive back at Lost Dutchman with barely any time to scout for sunset and decided to start wandering around for the day's sunset shot but the light was going to go fast.
Luckily within 5 minutes of walking the outer areas of the state park, we found an opening in the bushes with an interesting field of Saguaro cactus catching the sides of the sunset light. The light was amazing, the sky was amazing and the entire radiant colors in the frame makes for such a warm tasteful landscape photo. I can say we were rewarded with making an on the spot decision to ditch Salt Creek and grab an amazing shot of the Superstition Mountains.
Superstition Mountains
Arizona
Macro Mondays Abstract Challenge. This is a close up of the iridescent patina on a vintage glass bottle.
Many thanks to those that take the time to visit and/or comment and fav...it is sincerely appreciated!
The male of the American Wigeon has green iridescence on the side of the head when seen in the right light. It has a white crown stripe, which gave the old common name of Baldpate. The female has a mottled plumage for camouflage. This pair were seen in Elk Island National Park, east of Edmonton in the Canadian province of Alberta.
Occasionally a few Ammonites have sufficient actual shell nacre remaining that after 100s of millions of years later, they can have amazing iridescence showing several colors of great intensity. The non-scientific 'gemology' term for these rare and extremely sought after bits of shell is known as Amolite. Large specimens are sadly sometimes broken up and polished to be sold as jewelry. This medium sized ammonite shows primarily red and green, while some can also show blue, purple and even yellow. As in the Morpho Butterfly, the colors are produced by crystalline formations in the shell, and change with the angle of view, and can be very bright, and are not from pigments. Ammonites are cousins of the Chambered Nautilus, both being related to squid and octopus, and are NOT sea snails. While the walls between chambers in the Nautilus are smoothly rounded, the Ammonite chambers can be very complex producing wonderful patterns. Colors not enhanced.
This is the same loon as in the previous post. But, with a big difference. Bright sunlight and a lot beautiful iridescence shows up. Notice these were taken on the same day.
I took a drive this morning.
It is pouring down rain & dark. But, I did see two different cow moose, each with a calf and one Red-throated Loon. Didn't get any "Oh Wow" shots, but, at least I did see something and that is always a big plus.
Camera Settings: f/6.3 - 1/640 - 250mm - ISO 640
While Japanese Beetles are an invasive and quite destructive species, one can't help but admire their iridescent beauty.
Glossy Ibis - In The Wild - Winter '20-'21
Green Cay Wetlands - Jan. 19th, 2021
South Florida - Palm Beach County, FL
*[left-double-click for a closer-look - feather iridescence!]
*[catch them just right and their feathers are Gloriously Glossy!]
Their plumage appears dark, almost blackish, at a distance or in
poor light. At close range, much of the body is maroon, with the wing coverts showing metallic green, bronze, and violet tones. Glossy Ibises frequent almost any wetland environment with shallow water or exposed mud and also readily feeds in farm fields or open areas where soils are moist. - Sheen is amazing! Fun to observe.
Resplendent quetzals are beautiful birds well known for their colorful plumage. They have a green body (showing iridescence from green-gold to blue-violet) and red breasts. Depending on the light, quetzal feathers can shine in a variant of colors: green, cobalt, lime, yellow, to ultramarine. Their green upper tail coverts hide their tails and in breeding males are particularly splendid, being longer than the rest of the body. The primary wing coverts are also unusually long and give a fringed appearance. The male has a helmet-like crest. The bill, which is partly covered by green filamentous feathers, is yellow in mature males and black in females. Their iridescent feathers, which cause them to appear shiny and green like the canopy leaves, are a camouflage adaptation to hide within the canopy during rainy weather.
The parents dig their own nests in rotting tree trunks and termite mounds, or they use old woodpecker nests and natural cavities in trees. Both sexes participate in the construction of the nest and the incubation of the clutch, which usually consists of two eggs. Both parents care for the chicks, the male to a greater extent.
Young quetzals can fly at about three weeks of age, but males do not begin to grow their long tail plumes for three years.
The adults have a more fruit-based diet while the chicks consume primarily insects and some fruits.
Quetzals use the methods of "hovering" and "stalling" in order to selectively pick the fruit near the tips of the branches. Particularly important are wild avocados and other fruit of the laurel family, which the birds swallow whole before regurgitating the pits.
This image is © Copyright
Something special from this evenings photo shoot. 'Cloud iridescence or irisation is a colorful optical phenomenon that occurs in a cloud and appears in the general proximity of the Sun.' I was shooting towards the sun and wound up with these prismatic edges around the clouds. Didn't realize they were there until I downloaded the images. (No additional color was added.)
ODC-Iridescence
I have this hanging in a Red Pine tree in my front yard. I love how the light refracts in the crystal.