View allAll Photos Tagged iridescence!
For the Smile on Saturday challenge: "Iridescent"
I had a real problem trying to capture the fleeting iridescence of these, my favourite Christmas decorations. They have such subtle changes of colour as they sway in the breeze and catch the light. Eventually I decided that a dark background could catch more than sunlight. I'm not sure I managed...
HSoS ;o)
and HCS too!!
Cliche and Smile on Saturday: Here
Still Life Compositions: Here
My Festive images: Here
I captured this male Allen's Hummingbird in San Marcos while visiting. I was very fortunate to get most of the iridescence on his gorget which would be black otherwise as they turn their neck and the light is different. This was a new bird for me since we only had the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in my previous home of Maryland and I had a week to see these as well as the Anna's.
Taken 11 February 2018 in San Marcos, CA.
A Tree Swallow sparkling in the morning sun while perched atop its bird house at Sunfish Pond.
Tachycineta bicolor at the Morton Arboretum.
Male Boat-tailed Grackle showing its iridescence in Sweetwater Wetlands Park, Gainesville, Florida. They are most often found along the Southern Atlantic coast, the Gulf coast, and in Florida. Brown eyes like this are only found in parts of Florida and the Gulf coast.
Also known a s a Paua Shell, the natural iridescence of this sea creature is quite something to behold
iridescence: a lustrous rainbowlike play of color caused by differential refraction of light waves that tends to change as the angle of view changes.
Full frame. Dedicated vintage macro film lens. No crop. No post processing.
Large, colorful duck, endemic to New Zealand. Sexes told apart by head color; male has a black head with slight green iridescence, female has a white head and upper neck. Note the large white wing patch on the outer wing of both sexes in flight. Widely distributed throughout New Zealand. Utilizes rivers, wetlands, and lakes, as well as open grassy areas and farmland. Noisy; males give loud honking alarm calls, while females are higher-pitched. Found in pairs or in large flocks, especially post-breeding. Distinguishable from vagrant Australian Shelducks by absence of white neck ring, chestnut or buff breast, and black undertail. (eBird)
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The male shelduck can look quite plain, but get him in good light and his beautiful feather patterns and tones stand out. Very common birds found in all sorts of terrain. This one was enjoying the waters of the city centre beach.
Glenorchy, Otago, New Zealand. March 2024.
Roadrunner Birding Tours.
A bird I have never seen on my DIY perch and even a new shooting position, as this one was taken while I was outdoors as opposed from within my office.
Light was quite harsh, certainly not ideal but it sure made for the iridescence to show up very well. Everyone knows that I like saturation in my images, but honestly I have not added any at all, at least not to the bird. I did select the bird and then reversed the selection in order to tone down the brightness of the background and the perch, and I gave a bit of a saturation boost to make up for what was lost in their overexposure. This guy was indeed very bright, shiny and colourful.
I managed to get a number of different poses outdoors and even went inside and was able to get a few different shots. I decided on this one to post because of its pose and how all of its long tail is showing. Not a bird I have seen many times. I am so happy that I had noticed it and was able to get a number of captures.
I found this owl feather while gardening in our back yard. I brought it inside and put it in a glass container with maple leaves. It was on our kitchen counter, facing West. As the setting sunlight hit these items, I took a macro photo of this "ad hoc" still life.
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula). Kenny's Pond, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. April 21st, 2021.
A common duck for St. John's in the Winter. I thought that this photo opportunity in Spring lighting was a good chance to capture the purple iridescence.
This yellow-bellied trogon is fairly common from Panama to western Ecuador. Males have a dark head and breast with deep indigo iridescence, an iridescent turquoise or purplish back, and a plain white undertail. Females are grayer on the head and breast with a barred undertail that has large white tips on the tail feathers. Note the pale blue eyering. Compare with Gartered Trogon, which has a yellow eyering and different undertail pattern (barred with white tips on males, more black on females). Found singly or in pairs in forests, edges, and gardens up to around 1,000 m. Listen for accelerating series of “pow” notes and purring calls. (eBird)
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I love photographing trogons because they sit so quietly. This lovely female actually chose to sit on the wire across the road so we got a really good look at her.
Achiote Road, Panama. January 2016.
Birding Panama.
A boy Anna's Hummingbird in our back yard. I find it interesting that his iridescence on his gorget fades towards green at this angle
Utuana Reserve, Loja Ecuador, Jan 2022. © C.S. Wood
One of the prettiest hummers on this trip. Not uncommon, but limited range of southern Ecuador and northwest Peru. Note that the flight feathers lack any iridescence because the mechanics of iridescence weakens feathers, obviously a drawback to efficient flight.
Read about our birding adventures in Ecuador: woodysecuadorbirding.blogspot.com
these beetles come out in large numbers around Christmas time hence the name,they also come in a variety of colours
When the sun hits a drake Mallard just right I think their heads and bill look like a neon sign.
Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve
I spotted this Starling's sheens from the kitchen window yesterday. So I popped upstairs and grabbed a few shots through a gap in a window which I opened slightly. He was singing away in the winter sunshine and as he moved the light caught the iridescence in those feathers. Underrated birds Starlings I reckon.
This is my week 2 shot of the 52 week challenge, 100% so far lol.
Red-billed Streamertail is a national symbol of Jamaica, commonly referred to as the “Doctor Bird.” This species of hummingbird is found only on that island in the Caribbean Sea.
The iridescence on these guys is impressive close up
Thanks to all that choose to take the time to comment, ...I don't always get the time to respond to individual comments but they are all very much appreciated ...
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Rooks are very tame at Linlithgow Loch and you can get up very close. They have the most marvellous iridescence and gloss to their plumage, especially at the moment when they are in peak breeding condition
A bit of cloud iridescence, appears in thin clouds over Sour Lake on the Mud Volcano trail on the edge of Yellowstone National Park’s Hayden Valley. Sour Lake is a thermal lake fed by hot springs. The pastel colors in the cirrus clouds, called cloud iridescence, or irisation, appears when sunlight is diffracted through small drops of water or ice that make up the clouds. Each tiny droplet deflects the light individually. Although this iridescence may remind the observer of rainbow the two phenomena have different causes. A rainbow appears when light is refracted by moisture in the atmosphere. This refraction breaks the light down into a visible spectrum creating a rainbow.
Cloud iridescence, on the other hand, appears when the suns ray are deflected (ie; bent or distorted) as they pass through the tiny water droplets. The iridescent spots appear behind the clouds such as the cirrus clouds in this photo. Cloud iridescence tends to be short-lived but on this day it persisted for 15 minutes while I walked up the trail the Sour Lake.
This tall ornamental plant, known for its purple umbels, is also referred to as Persian onion or Dutch garlic. It is native to Iran and Kyrgyzstan.
"Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the property of certain surfaces that appear to change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes."
Backyard
Florida
USA
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
Anna’s Hummingbird is found in coastal western North America; this bird was fittingly seen within a stone’s throw of the ocean. This is a hardy species, often able to make it through winter as far north as northern British Columbia. This individual was at a private garden with exotic species, near French Creek on Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province abbreviated as BC.