UVF sand picture

[Adrian]

The Isle of Wifght, southern England is famous for it's varieties of sand in various colours, particularly from Alum Bay. It's long been a tradition to make sand pictures and sculptures from the various coloured sands. Some can be found that are over 100 years old.

I have a small bottle, just 5cm tall, with a sand "picture" inside. By chance I passed my UV torch over it, and found it to fluoresce brightly. Presumably this is due to the minerals which colour the sand?

Technical details:

UVF: Nikon D800, 105mm micro-Nikkor lens. UVF stimulated with Convoy S2+ UV LED torch. 20 seconds at f/16, light painted.

[Andy Perrin]

Oooh. That’s really pretty. What makes the sand blue? Copper?

[Adrian]

I don't know, but can only imagine it is something like that!

[OlDoinyo]

There are fluorescent minerals to be sure, but I suspect that some of the sand in that bottle has been colored artificially with organic dyes--I have seen the like before.

[Andy Perrin]

There are fluorescent minerals to be sure, but I suspect that some of the sand in that bottle has been colored artificially with organic dyes--I have seen the like before.

Hah! You caught them!