I am interested in testing how roses photograph with older wet plate photography methods, such as ambrotypes. I took a workshop this summer and was surprised to see a vase of blue delphinium show up white in the photograph. The instructor told me that the older processes depended on UV light rays during the exposure and that bees see the UV spectrum on flowers. From what I remember the color in modern red roses is genetically different from older roses and so I started wondering how roses that appear the same to our eye might photograph differently.
Have studies already been done with this?
Can you point me to articles on the development of color in roses?
I’m also looking for suggestions of roses to use as test subjects. I realize that many of these roses might require life support situations to survive long enough to photograph, but I am willing to do that for this purpose.