Lichen multispectral

[Dr Klaus Schmitt]

Today about some Lichen, that I found growing on a broken branch. Shots in UV were done using my CERCO 94mm
quartz/fluorite lens, the UV Baader-U and bee vision XB4 filter as well as a modified Xenon flash was used as light source.

Human vision image using UV/IR Cut filter:

Bee vision image using XBV4 filter:

UV image using Baader-U filter

Quite interesting, how Lichen reflects UV light in these differently colored sub-UV bands I have written earlier about.
Nice to know a target for UV photography when flowers will be gone soon...

 

[Dr Klaus Schmitt]

And here in UV induced visible fluorescence (UVIVF)

Human vision image using UV/IR Cut filter:

UVIFV image using a special UV Cut filter:

UVIFV image using Baader UV/IR Cut filter:

 

[Dr Klaus Schmitt]

A quadriptych of VIS-FL-UV images:

 

[Asher Kelman]

A quadriptych of VIS-FL-UV images:

​

Klaus,

Your lens seems so useful and flexible with your fancy filters! The visible spectrum one is actually quite attractive.

This is an interesting new area for us to see and learn. Yellow lichens are mostly edible and can be made into all sort of breads, porridge, soups etc! Some have cyan bacteria but all have a fungus plus a photosynthetic partner, usually a green algae. I'd imagine that with your filters you might be able to identify the pair making up any clump of lichen. That would be nice paper!

I'm interested in this and will now look around for lichen on stone walls or pieces of old log or fallen trees! I guess one could test the pH before gobbling up too much, as some are rather acidic.

Thanks for sharing your little excursion into such an ancient friendship pair! Imagine that the yeast itself has already within it, many organelles which are actually totally permanently captured symbiotics; the mitochondria being the most obvious and well known.

Asher

 

[Dr Klaus Schmitt]

Glad you like it Asher! And thanks for sharing all this insight into lichens, which I find quite fascinating and I will certainly learn more about them (and hopefully also take photos of them)!