Neon lights are some of the coolest things to grace the world. The tech is an iconic part of the early to mid-20th century, showing up in the form of various venue signs as well as becoming a key aesthetic in the 1982 movie Tron.
Nowadays, seeing neon lights is not as prevalent as it was back in the day, with cryogenic refrigeration and gas lasers being the primary applications of the element. However, people can still experience neon-like lighting in nature. Yes, nature has just become much more awesome.
Videographer Patrick Coyne has recently shown how awesome nature can sometimes be
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Patrick Coyne, a photographer and videographer from California, recently posted a video of sea waves breaking in a display of bioluminescence in Newport Beach, CA.
For those unaware, bioluminescence is the ability of living organisms to produce and emit neon-like light by means of chemical reactions happening inside their bodies. Some aquatic creatures as well as fungi and bacteria are capable of this, with many using it as a communicative, attractive, or defensive mechanism—and the visuals are absolutely stunning. For the record, this doesn’t use neon, but rather the compound luciferin as well as other elements, depending on the species. But, the result is the same.
One night, Patrick received a call from his friend Mark Girardeau about a red tide, originally discovered by another visual artist Royce Hutain. This meant that there would be a chance of bioluminescent activity happening in the ocean. So the guys decided to go check it out (yes, they kept their distance, don’t worry.)
He managed to catch a unique moment of dolphins in bioluminescent waters
Image credits: Patrick Coyne
Bioluminescence is when organisms emit neon-like light as a communicative, attractive, or defensive mechanism
Image credits: Patrick Coyne
And bioluminescence they found indeed. Lots of it, and very bright—brighter than usual, in fact. Patrick quickly grabbed his camera and started shooting the dreamy, neon-like waves crashing at shore. And the results were phenomenal, for lack of a better word.
So, Patrick came back for another round of filming a few days later, this time more prepared and actually ready to film more than just water. As explained in his latest Instagram post, he was invited by Captain Ryan of Newport Coastal Adventure to go out to sea and to capture some rare footage of dolphins swimming in the bioluminescence.
A ship captain from Newport Coastal Adventure invited Patrick to film dolphins some days after the red tide
Image credits: Patrick Coyne
Some consider this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as many factors are involved and conditions were perfect
Image credits: Patrick Coyne
Keep in mind that bioluminescence in itself is considered somewhat of a rare occurrence. Now, pair that up with the fortunate chance of living where it actually happens, and even getting an opportunity to get on a boat and go out into the open sea, and, on top of it all, actually being lucky enough to spot dolphins in weather that is always left to chance and to get as close to them as Patrick did—then you have yourself a once-in-a-lifetime situation.
Part of the Instagram caption on Patrick’s video also elaborated on this: “Conditions have to be absolutely perfect for the bioluminescence to show up and to have an animal swim through it so we can film it. On top of all that, just trying to nail the focus at such a wide aperture with something moving in the water was a nightmare. We were out for a few hours and on our final stretch back we finally had 2 dolphins pop up to start the incredible glowing show.”
Patrick filmed the dolphins several days after his other video of neon-like waves went viral
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Here’s a video of the luminescent waves from a different point of view
Video credits: Patrick Coyne
The video features a pod of dolphins dashing through the ocean, lit up in bioluminescence due to the plankton in the water. Besides the sight of it all looking simply spectacular, the lights seem to emphasize the dolphins’ forms, leaving a fading, ghostly trail of neon light behind them as they swim forward.
Many people found this sight to be breathtaking, calling it a truly magical moment. One commenter joked that all that was left was to wait for some mermaids to show up. The videos soon went viral and, since then, Patrick’s videos have begun making headlines on the internet.
What did you think of the majestic, illuminated dolphin show? Let us know in the comments section below!
The internet was stunned by the epic bioluminescent videos
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