Craig P. Burrows is a photographer, designer, fabricator, and horticulturalist based in Southern California. Since 2010, his practice has centered on documenting natural history subjects through unconventional imaging techniques — beginning with near-infrared photography and expanding into ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence (UVIVF), a process that renders the invisible light absorbed and emitted by plants as vivid, luminous color.
The results are unlike conventional botanical photography. Under ultraviolet light, flowers reveal structures and pigmentation patterns invisible to the human eye — the same visual signals that guide pollinators through their environment. Burrows photographs these phenomena with careful attention to both scientific integrity and aesthetic composition, producing images that function simultaneously as documentation and as art.
The work carries a personal dimension. Having grown up alongside natural spaces that were later lost to development, Burrows approaches his subjects with a conservationist's sensitivity. His fluorescent floral images are made, in his own words, to invite appreciation, respect, and a desire for coexistence with the global environment and its individual ecosystems.
In addition to his photographic practice, Burrows has a particular interest in regionally native flora and the role of floral fluorescence in pollinator-plant interactions. His book, What the Bee Sees, is available now.
We asked Craig to select some of his favorite images and tell us about them for this PROFOLIO.
Follow Graig
Instagram: www.instagram.com/cpburrowsphoto
Website: www.cpburrows.com
Allium neopolitanum 1
Subjects like this onion sometimes present the challenge of maintaining a satisfactory depth of field without compromising image quality with diffraction or high-ISO noise. Sometimes it is possible to compose my subjects such as this onion so that many different elements align closely with the image plane.
Mohavea breviflora 2
Beyond simply expressing hidden beauty in my floral subjects, I want to represent them accurately and honestly. To that end I work hard to minimize the impact of artificially fluorescent man-made dust. Many flowers such as this desert snapdragon possess glandular hairs which easily trap blue fluorescent dust and could potentially ruin a subject.
Lupinus lepidus confertus 3 stack
Through years of experience I’m a competent guesser on how flowers will glow, but this lupine defied my expectations with its brilliantly hued hairs and glowing banners. In cases where I want to show separate parts in a single photo, I turn to focus stacking. Though the subtle movement of flowers through a long exposure can defeat this endeavor, even a few photos in a stack can produce a much more striking image.
Ludisia discolor 3
The very fluorescence that makes this jewel orchid photo so striking also made it very challenging to photograph. Subjects with high-contrast fluorescence can exceed cameras’ dynamic range which requires attention to the histogram as well as aesthetic choices about whether it’s more important to retain shadows or highlights.
Erythranthe guttata 1
Some plants wilt extremely quickly if cut, meaning it’s ideal to work with potted subjects rather than cuttings. This monkeyflower typically grows in wet areas and has frail stems, meaning if it had been cut, it would certainly have wilted during the exposure, causing motion blur.
Eriophyllum pringlei 1
A challenge on many fronts, this miniature wooly sunflower grows pressed flat against sun-blasted dry soil. Isolating the subject from its growing medium required crafting a low-fluorescence backdrop which could be carefully slotted around the stem at ground-level.
Acmispon glaber 3
I’ve observed that yellow flowers often have an underwhelming impression in UVIVF and almost dismissed this deervetch. Nonetheless, I collected a sample and I was surprised by the variety of colors and minute structures I could not see in daylight.
Dudleya cymosa 3 stack
This genus of succulents is among my favorite groups of plants and with its distribution centered on California, I am right in the center of it. There is no shortage of varieties and local ecotypes worthy of record, but this photo is my favorite so far. The many crossing stems presented a challenge in avoiding visual chaos and was best served by very careful positioning and a shallow focus stack to prevent out of focus edges from merging into the sharp foreground blooms.
Bilbergia nutans 4
These bromeliad flowers already look like candy in daylight, but fluorescence transformed the colors and added a dimension of luminosity. To best show these small flowers I explored different compositions until I settled on a steep angle placing the flowers above the lens.
Astrophytum capricorne 4
The first time I saw this cactus blooming I was blown away by its ribbon-like petals and sweet fragrance. I got my own and grew it for years before I managed to catch a bloom. Cacti are very challenging to shoot in UVIVF due to their high contrast. In this case I chose a top-down view which simultaneously showed the petals both reflecting the pollen glow at the center and transmitting the glow at the edges from the spines below.
