Your Iris Has a Map - and Its Landmarks Have Names
An iris portrait can look like a planet, a flower, a storm, or a canyon seen from space. Anatomists, however, have names for many of the landmarks.
The collarette is the raised, irregular ridge that circles the pupil. It divides the iris into inner and outer zones and often becomes a dramatic focal point in macro photography.
The dark openings are crypts of Fuchs - gaps in the iris's front surface that reveal deeper tissue. Farther out, you may see curved or concentric creases called contraction furrows, created as the iris folds when the pupil changes size.
At the outer edge is the limbal ring, the dark border where the colored iris meets the white of the eye. It is often more pronounced when we are young and tends to soften with age.
Then there are freckles, streaks, spokes, pigment clouds, and tiny variations that make the map entirely your own. These features are wonderful to admire, but an art photograph is not a medical exam. New or changing spots belong in a conversation with an eye-care professional.
The closer you look, the less an iris resembles a simple color - and the more it resembles a world.
Every iris has landmarks. Only yours has this exact map.