Hello from a tropical biologist

[Lou Jost]

As a long-time reader of this forum, I'm excited to join the community officially. I am a  biologist based in Ecuador, and my specialty is botany though I also have strong interests in birds and insects.  I co-founded a conservation organization, Fundacion EcoMinga (www.ecomingafoundation.wordpress.com), to investigate biodiversity hotspots and protect them by direct purchase. We currently have a system of thirteen reserves, providing endless opportunities for discovery!

 

I use photography for my scientific work and for fun, especially extreme macro photography. I have many focus-stacking set-ups and use a wide variety of techniques. I also use IR photography for vegetation, landscapes, and nebulae, and I am just beginning to use UV for flowers and hopefully astrophotography. I use UV extensively for fluorescence photography, including IR fluorescence.

 

I have a diverse set of older lenses, from  very old Apo-Nikkor reproduction lenses and the 6x7cm format Apo-Sekors to exotics like the Printing Nikkor,  Repro-Nikkor, and Hasselblad Superachromat. Sadly I do not have any dedicated UV lenses, except for an unusual one=of-a-kind 248nm UV photolithography lens. I also have a very diverse assortment of second-hand microscope objectives, including fluorite ones.

 

I look forward to learning from the great experts here, and hopefully contributing information about some subjects (especially extreme macro).

 

Lou Jost

[colinbm]

Welcome Lou
You have hit a right note with me, I have spent a few years setting-up for UVIVF, UV induced visible fluorescence, with lights from Far UVC 222nm up to Near IR 940nm.
About the same time I learnt about 'Structural Colour' & I have been setting up, with a lot of help from forum members, to photograph the structure of iridescent beetles & butterflies.
I have just received a 20x objective which I will use soon. I am planning to get a 40x & a 60x objectives when I get a very stable rig together next year.
Really looking forwards to seeing your works.
Cheers

Col

[Lou Jost]

Thanks for the welcome, Colin. Your butterfly iridescence posts are what finally pushed me to join. I had known of your work from other sources, so I was very pleased to discover your posts here. I really enjoy those kinds of scientific posts applying photography in interesting ways.

 

Tonight when I have some time I will post on that thread with some thoughts on tube lenses and microscope objectives. I think there may be some misconceptions out there...I hope I can contribute something to the discussion.

[colinbm]

Thanks very much Lou, I will appreciate your enlightenment.

[Doug A]

Welcome Lou. You have some very interesting optics. Looking forward to more posts. 

Thanks,

Doug A

[colinbm]

This is a well presented video Lou & of particular interest to us here.
I do need to learn about adding magnifying glass to my many UV LEDs.

 

[Andy Perrin]

Welcome, and your knowledge will be much in demand, given the recent interest in extreme macro around here! 

[Nate]

Welcome Lou, that is great reserve reading. Looking forward to seeing your work.

[lukaszgryglicki]

Hello, welcome to the forum :)

 

[Lou Jost]

Thank you all for your kind welcomes! And thanks for finding and posting that fluorescence video. The takeaway of that video is that with good modern UV flashlights, you can see fluorescence during the daytime!

[Andrea B.]

Hello Lou and Welcome to UVP! I will be eager to see some reflected UV examples from your lens collections because we are always trying to find those lenses which work well (or well enough) for reflected UV. Also, any details about macro objectives would be quite useful. Tutorials are always welcomed. Also lens tests and specs are welcomed. Our member Ulf has created a beautiful lens section and can be helpful about adding new entries. 

[Lou Jost]

Thanks Andrea, I hope I can get some interesting results to share.

 

By the way, I have been unable to get notifications of replies to my posts. Is there a special trick to it? I selected the notifications-by-email option but haven't got any notifications yet.

 

Edit: I think I have figured out the settings...

[Andrea B.]

Lou, are you getting notifications now?

[Lou Jost]

Yes, thanks. I think I have to manually select "Follow" for each post, even though I had selected Notifications by email for responses to my post as a global setting.

[photoni]

@Lou Jost  you are beyond the tops !

[Lou Jost]

Thanks!!!