whale.to | John Ott, Sc.D. Hon., a naturalist photographer world famous for his ground
breaking work on the health effects of sunlight and artificial light, died
peacefully April 6 at the age of 90 in Sarasota, Florida.
He pioneered the use of rare-earth phosphors in fluorescent tubes to create
the effects of natural sunlight indoors that is often referred to as full
spectrum light. He also identified that the artificial light and
cathode-ray-tube radiation, produced from fluorescent tubes and television sets,
created plant mutations and unnatural forms of plant development with the
potential corresponding effects in humans.
His wonderful dual legacy to us is the understanding that sunlight is a
holistic and essential nutrient to a healthy life and that artificial light,
produced by conventional bulbs and fluorescent tubes, is not healthy. He showed
that artificial light can be converted to full spectrum to simulate sunlight for
indoor use.
John Ott's passion for photography in studying motion and life led to his
involvement with time-lapse photography. He was hired by Walt Disney to film the
famous time-lapse plant growth sequences used in Disney Studios' The Secrets Of
Life, Nature's Half Acre, the pumpkin-to-coach sequence in the movie Cinderella
and other nature films. It was during this period that he identified the
biological effects of artificial light on plants and animals and the need for
natural light in their growth. Over the next 40 years he continued his
groundbreaking research into the effects that natural light, brought indoors,
could have on plants, animals and now people. He conducted research on the
effects natural sunlight had on the learning and behavior of children, the
increased generation of Vitamin D, the production of melatonin/seratonin when
light enters the eyes and the light deprivation syndrome now widely known as
"Seasonal Affective Disorder" or SAD. He advocated the continual need for
sunlight in our lives and to replace standard indoor lighting with a better full
spectrum sunlight variety.
Dr. Ott received an Honorary Doctorate of Science Degree from Loyola
University of Chicago. He was the founder of John Ott Pictures and John Ott
Laboratories. He authored many books and articles and gave literally thousands
of lectures at conferences, scientific symposiums and to the general public over
the years, including lectures to the Cancer Control Society.
