Multiple Mini-bows


Being close to the drops means you can pick up multiple bows simultaneously. Some will be inside focus and others outside, plus the slight distortions mean the rays don't always come out at quite the usual rainbow angles. Diffraction effects around objects in the light path, marks on the lens and round the camera aperture can be seen in the larger images.

In-focus guttation drop and out-of-focus bows Crossed rainbow arcs

Drops well inside and outside focus can produce opposing and crossed arcs.

Diverging colour fringes Distorted dewdrop

Diverging arcs and multiple fringes caused by light passing through the distorted drop at right.

Colour fringes from a dewdrop Almost spherical water drop on grass

It doesn't take much distortion to produce some complicated patterns of colour, even though the drop at right looks spherical.


Canon EOS 20D   April 2007

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