View allAll Photos Tagged iridescence!
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.
An iridescent glow from the plumage of this Greater Blue-eared Glossy Starling. We caught this brilliant display while it fed on figs in the morning sunlight by Lake Langano, Ethiopia.
Breeding from Senegal east to Ethiopia and down the east of Africa to South Africa. The juvenile is a sooty brown with bottle green upperparts before developing this mature plumage of satiny blues and purples which glow with greater intensity when in brilliant sunlight.
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!
This was so beautiful in the Gardens on an all cloudy gray day. It's a dark Plum and mauve colored Lily. I've not seen one before; was so impressive.
Thank you Kerstin Frank for the use of your textures.
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.
I spent some time with this little creature, in awe of its beauty and skilled balance.
My not so steady feet and hands managed to snap away,
I've found it difficult to get a half decent shot, even of a sitting duck.
#wildbirds
The Variable Sunbird male has an extraordinary combination of colours, some of them enhanced by dazzling iridescence. This bird was finding nectar from the flowers of a Leonotis species in Nairobi National Park, Kenya.
One of dozens flying, a Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) breakfasts on Marjoram amongst the rocks at Ketton Quarry nature reserve in Rutland. At a particular combination of angles of butterfly, camera and morning light, the wings shimmered with blue iridescence. A slight turn of the subject or move of the camera would see the blue fade away, and fifteen minutes later the effect couldn't be seen at all.
J'ai un stock CONSIDERABLE de bulles qui n'attend qu'un moment pour être partagé.
Ce stock, réalisé ce tantôt avec l'aide d'une amie chère de mon club photo (dont vous voyez la main gantée) a été mon assurance de ne pas risquer de me briser la jambe en sortant dans des rues verglacées...
...Et en plus ça en jette, les bubulles de savon !
Angelina County, Texas
I happened to catch the light just right this morning to really capture the striking iridescence of this grackle.
I took this photograph of iridescence (actually a slide) a long time ago: in the summer of 2001.
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.
The colors are usually pastel, but can be very vivid or mingled together, sometimes similar to mother-of-pearl.
Here's another shot of this morning's partial solar eclipse with iridescent light caused by the diffraction of scattered light through water droplets in the clouds.
Cloud Iridescence (aka Cloud Irisation), seen while driving to Bakersfield in February. Made the drive a bit more interesting. (Sorry for the poor quality, only had my cell phone.)
I have been spending quite a bit of time this summer photographing a pair of Pacific Loons. I have been working with them for quite a few years.
I love how the different lighting and reflections on the water affect how they look.
Still looking for that "perfect" shot!
Maybe, get lucky one of these days. ;-)
I did get some to show the green iridescence on the neck.
That iridescence doesn't show in most shots.
Tends to look black.
Camera Settings: f/4 - 1/250 - 280mm - ISO 640
Cloud iridescence is the occurrence of colors in a cloud similar to those seen in oil films on puddles, and is similar to irisation. It is a fairly uncommon phenomenon, most often observed in altocumulus, cirrocumulus, lenticular clouds and cirrus clouds.
The colors are usually pastel, but can be very vivid. Iridescence is generally produced near where the sun appears in the sky, with the sun's glare masking it, so it is more easily seen by hiding the sun behind a tree or building. Other aids are dark glasses, or observing the sky reflected in a convex mirror or in a pool of water. Or one can simply block the sun (but not the cloud) with the palm of one's hand.
Iridescent clouds are a diffraction phenomenon caused by small water droplets or small ice crystals individually scattering light. Larger ice crystals produce halos. -- source: wikipedia
Most Of the Loons I see now days are transient. They will spend a few days/weeks on a lake and then go check out another lake. When I first came to Alaska, nearly every lake in the Anchorage area had a nesting pair of loons. Now days that is a rarity.
Sad how "progress" changes things and not for the better.
Common Loons are big birds and they need a long runway to get airborne. So, when taking off they do a lot of running on the water before they get into the air. They nearly always take off into the wind.
Camera Settings: f/5.6 - 1/500 - 280mm - ISO 640
Tui are endemic to New Zealand and they're in the honeyeater family. I saw Tui birds 6 times or so and I thought they were black birds. With a flash I could finally see the Tui's colors and iridescence.
Growing up on the the west coast, I never expected I'd stand here in the city one day. But life is full of surprises and now I live in New York. So I stood there with a smile, looking from Brooklyn to Manhattan and the World Trade Center with the light reflections shining across the water.
"New York had all the iridescence of the beginning of the world..." F. Scott Fitzgerald
This early arriving Hummer is one of several males that are fighting over the nectar feeder just below. They now compete with breath-taking high-speed aerial sky dives to impress the feeding females and get their attention (for breeding). This flight action is both visually and audibly impressive! It's still very early morning, and the sunlight is heavily filtered by the tall forest growth to the east. Although I have the sun at my back, the gorgets will not display full red iridescence until it gets a little brighter. In this shot you can get quite a hint of the vibrant wine-red color to come with later more intense sunlight! This dazzling display is then based more on iridescence than pigment colors... but the sun angle has to be correct. The experienced males know how to precisely position themselves relative to sun angle to awe the ladies.
IMG_6324; Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Male Annas's have brilliant iridescence on their head, and usually it looks bright red or pink... but if the light is at exactly the right angle, the iridescence will appear to be apricot gold, or olive green, or it's not visible at all. this is the first time I've seen a male Anna's appear to have an all-green iridescent head!
Hereford, Arizona. Sept. 2024