Submitter's name:	John A. Lind
Title:	Phos
Gear used:	OM-4, 300mm f/4.5 F.Zuiko, 2X-A TC, tripod, cable release
Diaphragm:	f4.5 (effective f/9)
Shutter speed:	1/125
Film used:	Kodachrome 64
Technical information:	The 300/4.5 and 2X-A have been a good combination the several times I've used them, even though Olympus does not list the 2X-A TC as matched for use with the 300/4.5 lens. Only the curved corners of the slide mount were cropped.
Subject information:	Guess! I will post what it is later.
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Comment left by: Olaf Greve (no e-mail specified)

Soooo, a shot at an effective 600mm, wide open... Hmmm, tough one, it looks a bit like an (out of focus ?) colour scale, which has been mirrored vertically in the centre. However, you make no mention of such a digital edit... I would still guess that whatever it is we are looking at here, somehow is water or something else which might work like a prism, through which white light is broken down into its different colour components...

Comment left by: Hans van Veluwen (no e-mail specified)

I've copied this image in an editor, cut it in half (because like Olaf I suspect digital duplication - it is completely symmetrical) and rotated the right half anti-clockwise. A Red-Orange-Yellow-Green-Blue curve like a rainbow spectrum. I think it _is_ (part of a) rainbow! Figures with a 600mm lens...

Comment left by: John A. Lind (jlind@netusa1.net)

Nope . . . this is the full frame of the slide. The object photographed is symmetrical. The image is "right side up" (has not been rotated) which is what I found interesting about the object and gave me the idea for it. Keep guessing! Thanks, -- John

Comment left by: Mickey Trageser (mickeytr@maxinter.net)

Looks a bit like a propane or natural gas flame, but I can't get a fix on the green. There are subtle shades in the blue that seem to suggest a stacking of tiers of some shape, the lowest: 1 wide, the next: 2 wide and then 3. It's all so soft and unfocused, I just can't make it out.

Comment left by: Lex Jenkins (lexjenkins@hotmail.com)

I'm inclined to go with Mickey's impression that it's a flame, but not propane or natural gas. I'll borrow a clue from John's title and guess it's burning or oxidizing phosphorus. OTOH, I'm baffled by the symmetry - very unlikely in a flame. Since the 300/4.5 and 2X-A combination wouldn't focus closely enough to fill the frame *and* be in focus, that would account for the overall softness. Regardless of what it actually is, this is a wonderful image. I'm tempted to try to reproduce it in watercolor.

Comment left by: John A. Lind (jlind@netusa1.net)

Phos = "Light" in Greek and apologize for using the Roman alphabet for spelling it but couldn't find the correct characters in ASCII. In Greek it's spelled with three letters: Phi Ohmega Sigma. If you have given an honest effort at thinking about what this might be, then you can look to see if you got it correctly here: http://johnlind.tripod.com/tope04revealed.html The above link is for a second image of this object that reveals completely what it is. Thanks, I had fun doing this one -- John P.S. Thus far, nobody has come close!

Comment left by: Brian Swale (bj@caverock.net.nz)

To me it looks like the lower torso of somebody in a swimming costume, lit up with some way-out lighting, and photographed from the front. Now I'll have to check out what the real answer is. Interesting colour combo. Brian

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