{"id":85501,"date":"2025-08-21T17:44:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T17:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/85501\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T17:44:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T17:44:10","slug":"photographer-captures-the-hidden-light-of-animals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/85501\/","title":{"rendered":"Photographer Captures the Hidden Light of Animals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Three<\/a>A kangaroo, a quoll, and a cockatoo emitting biofluorescence when put under a UV flash. <\/p>\n

A chance encounter with a family of adorable quolls has led one photographer to explore a hidden world of light that some animals emit when ultraviolet light is shone on them, known as biofluorescence. <\/p>\n

Ben Alldridge discovered that the quolls \u2014 marsupials roughly the size of a housecat \u2014 were biofluorescent while on a camping trip that he happened to have brought his specialized camera equipment on. <\/p>\n

From his home in Tasmania, Australia, Alldridge tells PetaPixel that his interest in biofluorescence began years ago when he was growing coral, experimenting with blue and UV light to optimize growth rates. \u201cIt sort of grew from there,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>An eastern quoll glowing underneath Alldridge\u2019s UV flash.
Below, a comparison of visible light and UV light. Alldridge has since figured out how to get rid of the AF assist beam marks. <\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

After his encounter with the quolls, Alldridge has discovered that Tasmanian devils are also biofluorescent, albeit under a different spectrum, as well as kangaroos, wombats, cockatoos, and echidnas. Until he uses UV light, he has no idea which species are biofluorescent and which aren\u2019t. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt this stage, there is a very small canon on it. We know of several hundred species in the ocean that do it. We know of plants and fungi that do it. We know quite a lot about invertebrates that are doing it; scorpions and spiders. But mammals? Essentially nothing. It\u2019s totally new ground.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Echidna \"A<\/a>Wombat \"A<\/a>Parrot <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Kangaroo What the Heck is Biofluorescence? <\/p>\n

Many will be familiar with bioluminescence found in fireflies<\/a>, glowworms, and the ocean<\/a>. Bioluminescence effectively conjures its own light, whereas biofluorescence only comes out underneath certain lights \u2014 UV and blue \u2014 and a biofluorescent animal will respond with a specific corresponding color that glows. <\/p>\n

To bring out this biofluorescence, Alldridge has a specialist type of UV flash which looks like a normal speedlight except when it fires, humans can\u2019t see the light since ultraviolet is outside of the visible light spectrum. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re harvesting that little bit of energy, whether it be as protection, encouraging other animals to come and interact with them, or attracting prey \u2014 we\u2019re not actually sure why they\u2019re doing it. But they are taking that little portion of light and then putting out totally different colors.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Alldridge is an accomplished landscape photographer and has incorporated his biofluorescent skillset into some of his vista work. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Tree<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Colorful<\/a><\/p>\n

Alldridge is in a very small club of photographers capturing animals in this way. He says a \u201cfew high-end Nat Geo\u201d photographers have done it but he has the largest collection of biofluorescent photos of mammals in the world. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been very much the domain of people that have had access to really sensitive cameras just simply because they\u2019re such a small amount of light that you\u2019re dealing with,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a> <\/p>\n

Alldridge has shot most of his photos on the island of Tasmania, but he hopes to travel more as he continues his \u201cvoyage of discovery.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s different for each individual species,\u201d Alldridge says of his ongoing research. \u201cThere are some things where it seems like it\u2019s a relatively logical leap. In birds we know that they\u2019re using it for signaling, for mating cues, and those sorts of stuff. Certain plants and fungi are using it for pollination purposes. But for these guys [mammals], your guess is as good as anybody\u2019s. For all we know, they\u2019re not even actually aware that they\u2019re doing it.\u201d <\/p>\n

More of Alldridge\u2019s work can be found on his website<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Image credits: Photographs by Ben Alldridge<\/p>\n