Artist Debora Lombardi shines a light on flowers in her new photo series—literally. The Italy-based designer and photographer uses ultraviolet light to capture the unseen beauty of these plants, revealing dazzling colors and patterns that are otherwise invisible during the daytime.
Lombardi began this project at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. With just a few tools and plants collected from the condominium garden, she was able to tap into a new world. Since then, Lombardi has continued adding to the series, experimenting with customizations each time. “Ultraviolet induced visible fluorescence photography (UVIVF) is a technique that captures the fluorescence of flowers and plants hit by UV light—and which makes visible what is generally invisible to the naked eye,” she tells My Modern Met. “Photographing in this way reveals vivid, incandescent colors—a chromatic world not detected by human eyes, but that some animals (such as bees) can perceive.” Industrial Headlamp
Each of these stunning photos utilizes a plain black background to emphasize the striking coloration of flowers. This simple composition is reminiscent of portrait photography. “I take my photos in a totally dark environment, illuminating the subject by a UV torch (of those usually used in crime scenes), with shutter speeds ranging from 10 to 30 seconds, and applying technical measures resulting from various experiments,” Lombardi adds. Her photo series was named a finialist in the World Photography Organization awards.
Scroll down to see more radiant photographs by Lombardi, and keep up to date with her latest works by following the artist on Instagram.
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