UV Reflectance in Fungi

I own a cheap full spectrum camera which I use without extra filters so it will be recording all the light around including UV ('normal' cameras have a UV filter that cuts out these wavelengths). I also have a UV torch (mainly sold for revealing rodents etc by their uv-fluorescent urine!). Yesterday I photographed fungi with extra illumination from the UV torch with the full spectrum camera (this renders foliage, fungi a greenish brown colour under daylight). The Sulphur Tufts are the most dramatic with the stems and caps reflecting different wavelengths. On other toadstools the effect is more subtle! One Clitocybe was fairly well advanced and it appears that the released spores and the gills themselves reflect different wavelengths when illuminated. (There are some fungi that actually emit UV light but I think these are mainly  foreign and would require a special and very expensive filter for the camera to block all wavelengths except ultraviolet). 

Very Wet Morning at Brandon, Suffolk

Although the weather forecast predicted a dry morning from about 9 am when our RPS Nature Group  arrived at Brandon, it rained heavily for most of the morning. However, with thousands of toadstools sprouted up everywhere, we got down to the task of trying to produce interesting photographs while sheltering under Brollies etc We used natural lights topped up with LED panels where needed and several techniques including focus stacking. Here are some of my morning efforts including the last one lit with UV light giving quite a spooky feeling. 

UV Photography: Lichens and Spider

There are quite a few scientific studies on the UV-screening chemicals in lichen which absorb UV light and then emit it at a different wavelength. The interest varies from a pure research level to document the occurrence, to more practical application such as aids to ID of lichens and as possible help in the production of effective human UV sunscreens, important as our radiation levels increase. I photographed some of the lichens I collected locally and at Paxton Pits to monitor the variations in intensity and colours. I also photographed some spiders that were living in the lichens along with abundant Collembolids (too small for the lens I was using), This spider is a female Misumena vatia

 

Lichen Project

A rainy day yesterday so I thought I would continue with my lichen ID and UV fluorescence project. I had collected quite a few specimens and set about taking and photostacking images. Unfortunately my UV torch requires a new battery (not one I have a spare) but here are the ones I did manage. Now to identify them!!

UV Fluorescence in Lichens

I collected some different lichens during a conservation morning at Paxton Pits and photographed them with a macro lens using a UV torch. The UV light is absorbed into the subject and visible light is re-emitted at different wavelengths giving beautiful colours for with Xanthoria parietina (white light images on the right to compare) . The last two lichens (Usnea species and ?genus) did not fluoresce