Rainbow wings

Victor Tyakht's Image

The bird’s wing acts as a diffraction grating – a surface structure with a repeating pattern of ridges or slits.

The structure causes the incoming light rays to spread out, bend and split into spectral colours, producing this shimmering rainbow effect, captured here by Victor.


Behind the lens

Victor Tyakht

Victor Tyakht

Russia

Victor started out as a wildlife photographer at 50 years old. He enjoys travelling to various Russian regions and believes Kalmykia to be one of the most interesting places to photograph. He is a board member of the Russian Union of Wildlife Photographers.

Image details

  • Nikon D300s
  • Nikkor 80–400mm f4–5.6 lens at 400mm
  • 1/8000 sec at f11
Copyright in WPY competition photographs remains the property of the respective photographers. You may not copy, share, reproduce or republish the photographs except as expressly permitted by copyright law. For media image usage enquiries, please contact us.

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