A natural occurrence causes the wings of hummingbirds to seem like miniature rainbows.
An amazing discovery of rainbows form on hummingbird wings was made by the artist and photographer Christian Spencer while he was standing on the veranda of his home in Rio de Janeiro.
Rainbows form on hummingbird wings
He noticed that when black Jacobin hummingbirds flew against the background of the sun, the sun’s rays penetrated through their spread wings, creating a beautiful prism effect. Spencer made this observation while standing on the veranda. During those certain times, it appeared as if their entire body was constructed out of a rainbow.
Rainbows form on hummingbird wings
He made the decision to experiment with photographing this incredible result. As a result, a photographic series titled “Winged Prism” came into existence (Winged Prism)
Rainbows form on hummingbird wings
Christian is a well-known and successful photographer, filmmaker, and visual artist. His fascination with the natural world began at a young age, and he made his professional debut as a painter in Adelaide in 1996. In 1998, he uprooted his life and traveled to the middle of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia, where he settled down on a sheep farm and began painting. Since 2001, he has devoted a significant portion of his time to living and working in Brazil, where he has exhibited his paintings and won 19 international prizes for the feature-length nature films he has directed.
Rainbows form on hummingbird wings
Christian has recently taken part in a number of international photography competitions and has won multiple honors. Winner of the “Best Overall Photo” award in the Ecological Society of Australia Photo Competition in both 2014 and 2015; winner of the photography awards given out by the World Meteorological Organization; finalist in the Head On Awards held in Sydney, Australia; Travel Photographer of the Year award and best photo award given out by the Canon college photography competition held in Brazil in 2017.
Rainbows form on hummingbird wings
All photographs were taken by Christian Spencer. With the artist’s permission, this is being shared.
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