Photography ???

[xlent]

I am getting another electric red garnet..a lighter one to see if it does this
It is a very gray day and I was talking to a friend..and the garnet turned blue. I asked my friend.."Do you see that blue" and my friend said "Yes." So I got the camera, took the garnet back to the same location. I was holding the camera, the ring and trying to focus and punch the button..and I was working fast because I thought the light might change and I wouldn't get the blue. The picture is very fuzzy because of the focus and the handshake but
Here is the Blue

 

[xlent]

Here is another blurry picture but I did capture the color. What causes this? The color is in the stone, not a surface reflection..In real life it looks like a blue stone. I don''t know if it will ever do it again. I checked for blue objects that could be reflecting but even the sky was gray..I tried again with a friend a few hours later but the light had changed, I guess, and we could only get red. Is it a fluke?

 

[xlent]

I do like photographing stones..Wish I were better at it..
I will believe this wasn't a one time fluke or a reflection from somewhere only if it happens again ..one or more times..Something is scientifically true only if it is reproducable under the same or similiar conditions and it happens more than one time..Otherwise it is just a very strange fluke or anamolie.
I ordered another red garnet so if this one turns any shades of blue again, I can compare the stones. If both do it then it is reflection from somewhere as red garnets do not turn blue or do they?
I think this was either an anomalie or ..a reflection of some kind..but it was very pretty all the same.

 

[zeolite]

Date: 2/24/2010 8:57:49 PM
Author: xlent
I do like photographing stones..Wish I were better at it..
I will believe this wasn''t a one time fluke or a reflection from somewhere only if it happens again ..one or more times..Something is scientifically true only if it is reproducable under the same or similiar conditions and it happens more than one time..Otherwise it is just a very strange fluke or anamolie.
I ordered another red garnet so if this one turns any shades of blue again, I can compare the stones. If both do it then it is reflection from somewhere as red garnets do not turn blue or do they?
I think this was either an anomalie or ..a reflection of some kind..but it was very pretty all the same.

I think what you are seeing is a reflection. If you tilt the stone enough, red light from within the stone will not exit out of the table, it will be internally reflected and stay within the stone. At the same time, the blue sky can be reflected off the table to your eye, making the stone appear blue.

Yes there are blue garnets, but they are exceedingly rare. Below is a garnet from Bekily Madagascar. On one side there is an incandescent light, on the other side, a daylight fluorescent. Both lights were on at the same time to make this photograph.

 

[xlent]

Lesson Learned..Yes, This color is so brilliant it is unreal..I am checking on the glass..There are many different types of treatments for glass that it could be a tint of some kind..UV or thermopane. I suspect that is the explanation ..because I don't find anyother source of blue. I was shading the stone..cradling it to dim the light. Reflection from the sky or nearby objects, the obvious culprits, were not present..so..treated window glass!
I am examining the stone in different lights. If I shine a white LED light through the side of the stone, the stone will turn a very pale shade of icy blue...like very pale sapphire but nothing to write home about..I haven't tried flourescent yet..I tried incandescent, halogen and white LED (I think the flashlight is LED)
Thanks for the answer. Photography is fascinating..my new hobby and even if I never get good with stones..the experience is improving my skills when photographing larger, more cooperative and less camera shy subjects.

 

[xlent]

I will clarify what I meant by "icy blue"...It is not any "sapphire" except in tint/shade..a mere hint..If the LED flashlight is held at an angle, it washes out all color except the color of ice or water and that has a faint hint of blue..almost blue grey. The stone is red ..a plain old pyrope almandine garnet and any "colors" discussed are about photography and light..not the stone.
Understanding light and photography is an interesting subject..and I thank the gentleman who answered the question ..realizing it was about light and photographing a plain old red pyrope/almandine garnet.