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UltravioletPhotography

Who are we?


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This site is founded by Bjørn [later, Birna] Rørslett and now run jointly with Andrea G. Blum.

 

The main aim is to present and develop a resource for ultraviolet (UV) photography. The emphasis is on presenting UV photography, mainly of a documentary nature, using precisely defined photographic approaches. While the technical aspects of this field are described and open for discussion, we do not intend the thrust to be in the 'gear' sector as such.

 

The staff members are:

 

Birna Rørslett (Oslo, Norway)

Trained in botany, statistics, ecology, computer science, and chemistry, at the University of Oslo (Oslo, Norway) 1968-74. Ph.D. in ecology (1984), then worked as senior scientist at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA, Oslo, Norway) until 2001, thereafter full-time nature photographer with a speciality in experimental approaches. Photographic exploration of invisible light (ultraviolet, infrared) has held my interest for decades. Being a botanist at heart, the documentation of the diversified UV marks of flowers is currently my top challenge and the very reason for initiating this web site.

 

Andrea G. Blum (New Jersey, USA)

After a brief stint as an Instructor-in-Mathematics at the University of California-Davis, Andrea switched coasts to become a Member of the Technical Staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories in New Jersey where she worked for 20 years as a Network Designer and later as a Software Architect on various telecommunications apps such as Air-to-Ground wireless telephony. Andrea has had a camera in her hands since she was 8 years old, but knew she had found her true calling when she discovered invisible spectrum photography in 2007. Her lifelong love of wildflowers, botany and other nature combines beautifully with UV photography, and she is very happy to be a part of this website's floral UV signature documentation effort as well as other UV-based photographic investigations.

 

A little history flashback

Bjørn [birna] decided to create this documentary website after Andrea had complained for several years about "whatever will I do with all these UV flower fotos I've accumulated". On their Desert Wildflower Safari in 2012, a 2700-mile journey through the American desert Southwest, the two UV photographers discussed the plans for Ultravioletphotography.com. Andrea would like to thank Birna for starting this undertaking and for continued mentorship and encouragement of her UV photography.

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  • 1 year later...

Bjørn, looking fierce.

Photographed in Saguaro National Park, Tucson, Arizona, USA 06 April 2012

D3S_1933proof3crop4 copy.jpg

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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 month later...
A UV photographer must learn to improvise in the field .... A whisky container acts as a support for a metal lid as reflector. The plant is Salvia pratensis.
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  • 4 years later...

Andrea finds a working solution at Artist's Palette, Death Valley. She simply snatched my keffiyeh and used it as a sun shade.

 

U1202285204_andrea_keffiyeh_death_valley.jpg

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Lest one is confused about the variation of given names used here: Bjørn/Bjørn Birna/Birna Rørslett, they all refer to the same individual. They just reflect the different stages of a gender transition. Such things do happen. From May, 2018, only Birna Rørslett is in existence.

 

'Bjørn' and 'Birna' are both Norse names and have the same meaning; "bear". The first is male, the second is female inflection of the same word.

 

The 2020 (and final) edition:

 

P20201018123909.jpg

 

 

One needs to be careful about UV -- it can inflict unpredicted changes :smile:

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