Magnificient: Man Captures Dolphins Lit Up In Neon Light Due To Rare Bioluminescence Phenomenon

Patrick Coyne, a photographer and videographer from Torrance, California, got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to capture a breathtaking display of bioluminescence at Newport Beach. The fact that was able to witness a rare phenomenon was the result of pure chance.

Instagram/Patrick Coyne

For those who don't know, 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¡ªand 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¡¯.

For Patrick Coyne, Science was about to make his day. Coyne got a call from his friend about a red tide and he rushed to him, read a report. What he saw next, almost changed it life. As seen in the viral video, what Coyne saw was dolphins all lit up and looking magnificent as they speedily made their way around in the water.

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Last night was truly one of the most magical nights of my life. Capt. Ryan @lawofthelandnsea of @newportcoastaladventure invited me along to capture rare video of Dolphins swimming in bioluminescence. The first time I saw this actually filmed was a few months back while watching a Night on Earth documentary on Netflix. The second I saw that footage it became a dream of mine to one day capture something similar and that¡¯s exactly what we did. This was by far the most challenging video I¡¯ve shot for a number of reason. For starters the bioluminescence has sweet spots to where it shows up and then fades away so while on the water it¡¯s impossible to just find it. Not only that but actually finding any type of animal in pitch black is just so ridiculously hard. Conditions have to be absolutely perfect 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. A few minutes later and we were greeted by a few more which was incredible. I¡¯m honestly still processing this all and I can¡¯t thank @newportcoastaladventure enough for having me out because without them none of this would be possible. Be sure to check our their edit from last night as well! I hope you all enjoy this video. ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Shot on a Sony a7Sii with a Rokinon 35mm Cine DS T1.5 Len. Shutter speed: 1/50 Aperture T2 ISO 80,000

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Beauty aside, the situation did pose some challenges.

¡°The most challenging part about night videography and filming bioluminescence is the lack of light. You need to have the right gear and knowledge in order to film in conditions as hard as these. Luckily, the Sony camera I used does fantastic in low light and is part of the reason why I was able to get such great footage,¡± Bored Panda quoted him as saying.

Instagram/Patrick Coyne

He points out in the caption of his now viral video, ¡®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.¡¯

The images and the video are truly breathtaking!