The Weird Lens Museum seems not only to be interested in odd lenses, but also unusual light sources for still life set-ups. Curator Mathieu Stern has published a video showing experimental work with off-visible-spectrum specialist Pierre Luis Ferrer in which they use a handheld UV light to illuminate fruit and everyday objects, making for strange, ethereal patterns and colors.
The inside of a kiwi seen with ultraviolet light.
With the lights off in the studio only the UV light is used on the subjects, which causes some materials to glow in a spectacular way. Different substances react to UV light and can glow in a range of colors, as seen in the kiwi example above.
UV lights don't cost more than $10-20 for handheld varieties, so head to your nearest hardware store (or favorite online store) and pick one up to see what interesting results you end up with. Remember to pick up a pair of protective UV glasses though to keep your eyes safe; UV flashlights are a relatively weak source of UV light, but it's better to play it safe, especially when it comes to your eyes.
UV light is ionizing radiation and can break chemical bonds in organic tissue, including breaking bonds within DNA molecules. Here is a good summary article on UV and eye damage:
You can't see UV light, so you wouldn't notice a very strong UV light source. You can see daylight, so you wouldn't look directly into the sun. This said: for normal intensity, only UVc is harmful. It's used i.e. in pond filters to kill algae.
UV isn't that much of a concern IMO. The eye lens blocks 90%+ of UV. There are photo receptors in the eye that are sensitive to UV, and they aren't stimulated most the time. Though I've always kind of wondered, doesn't a little UV light near the blue range get in? Like I can see when a black light is on, is that UV light that I see or is that light in the normal visible spectrum that just happens to be emitted in small quantities. There are some people with artificial lenses that can see the UV light.
I also wonder how well does CA correction work in the extremes, like I've been editing this image with intense highlights next to black, and I've noticed more than usual CA, like maybe the sensor is picking up some reds and blues that wouldn't normally be seen.
UV damages eyes quite readily. It also damages the skin. Here is an article covering skin damage written with fluorescent mineral collectors in mind but applies to anyone working with UV light sources.
I have been meaning to try it out but the difficulty is sourcing the UV flashlights and other black light source. They are difficult to find in normal hardware stores. Most places don’t carry them.
Time to get out my black-Light fluorescent tube from the seventies and show these guys up. I mean really people, some of us were doing this sort of stuff back in the film days. Fluorescent LED's make it convenient, but they are not the same as a true black-light tube. These guys should have run their light over a silver B&W print on RC paper. The Titanium Oxide whitener glows in the dark bigly. Also makes the posters on the wall "pop".
They should also check out "Field Photography - Beginning and Advanced Techniques" by Alfred A. Baker. But then you would have to be able to read. UV photography pgs. 183-192. Infrared luminescence with UV radiation pg 189.
For the lamp, a UV band pass filter will allow the UV to pass while blocking most of the visible light, preventing the visible light from washing out the scene. For the camera, a UV blocking filter will help reduce haze and "blueing" of the scene. The haze is caused by lens components fluorescing under strong UV light. Some UV blocking filters also fluoresce under UV unfortunately. The fluorescence isn't noticeable under normal lighting conditions (daylight) but can be noticeable with strong UV lamps in dark rooms.
In my previous posts, I referred to a "UV filter" when I should have written "UV band pass filter". Sorry for the confusion.
The concept is pretty nice. I wonder if super macro can be done with such light source. I have done many creative images with such setup, however. Most of the UV lights that I’ve tried didn’t work well, but once you get a good light source with proper filtration, a world of wonders can be revealed, and with a UV camera even more wonderful results can be achieved. The UV light source that I have is a battery powered LED with a heat sink that can conveniently fit into a smartphone mount, so that you don’t have to constantly hold it and can achieve perfect exposure. Much can be learned.
Macros work well. A UV(0) filter helps cut haze when the light source is close to the camera. Achieving the correct white balance takes trial and error as the white balance varies with light source, camera, and subject being photographed. Color temps around 7000K are a good starting point but can range up to 13000K for some objects.
Here are some of my mineral photos under UV. There are both macros and photomicrographs further down the page. Note: the page has lots of photos and will take some time to load (and chew up your data plan if you're reading this on your phone).
I have wanted to try them out. I have been using a UV light that can be Mounted to tripod. I wonder how the brightness compares. To see my setup, visit my Yotube channel, MacM545.
MacM545: "Did not think about that before, how Effective exactly is the the UV filter?"
Subjectively, to my eye, the Hoya HMC Super UV(0) filter blocks maybe 90% of the apparent UV light. Keep in mind that the filter was designed for sunlight and not for the challenge of blocking reflected light from a strong UV light source.
Good advice. Regular polycarbonate safety glasses will also block UV. The simple test to see if a particular pair of glasses blocks longwave UV is to shine the UV light through the glasses onto a piece of white paper. If the paper glows, the glasses aren't blocking UV.
...as long as the paper has optical brighteners in it (as many washing powders also have) then yes that's a test, but I'd still get the orange lens variety to block as much UV as possible.
Same plastic glasses your dentist uses (and should also ask you to wear) when flashing/hardening resin-based composite fillings.
Yep. I was a little surprised that they didn’t say this (and a little irresponsible), considering how much damage UV light can do to your eyes. Not everyone realizes this. Additionally UV light can also cause other damage to your body (think tanning beds and their link to cancer). Of course it is of far less concern than your eyes.
The Uvex S0290X Ultra-spec googles are excellent and under $10 on Amazon. Oddly the orange Uvex S0360X Ultra-spec googles seem to leak at 390nm, plus minus 10nm. So its better to get the amber ones.
Gannon Burgett: "@lefteye: Thanks for the reminder. We'll put a warning in the article."
You might want to also modify this statement: "UV flashlights are a relatively weak source of UV light,". Modern LED UV flashlights pack a wallop. The cheap Convoy lights mentioned in these comments can light up UV minerals in broad daylight. Also, when photographing objects in a dark room,your eyes dilate, allowing more UV light into the eyes.
For best results, get a UV light with a proper filter. Too much visible light ruins the effect.
Longwave UV LED lights with filters are pretty cheap now with the Convoy S2+ variants available through multiple vendors (ebay and fluorescent mineral sites) starting around $25 for the bare light plus a couple bucks for the filter to around $80 for kits with light, filter, batteries, and charger. The hardware store pet urine lights are often unfiltered or have crappy filters allowing too much visible light through.
Filtered shortwave UV lights are expensive (the low pressure mercury lamps are cheap, the filters are expensive) and bulky. Reliable shortwave UV LEDs aren't ready for prime time.
Incidentally, one can take UV photos with a speedlight as the xenon flash tubes output some UV. Take the plastic diffuser off the front and tape a UV filter in it's place and it's ready to go. Nikon sold a UV speedlight many moons ago but they were (and still are) very expensive.
burnttoast, "Take the plastic diffuser off the front and tape a UV filter in it's place and it's ready to go. " Usually, "UV filter" is the name of a filter blocking the UV. You should call it a band-pass UV filter, maybe, to make it clear for everyone.
Good point. Also, I should be clear: the diffuser and lens have to be removed so that the bare flash tube is exposed. If the flash has a focus motor, maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to take it apart. I used a 1980s vintage fixed focus Vivitar and was able to modify it and restore it to normal condition with no issues.
Bare bulb xenon + MidOpt BP365 and Hoya U340 give the best, purest UV-only spectrum output. I've modified about a dozen flashes this way for myself and others. :)
As you say, take out the plastic diffusers and lenses from in front of the flash and tape on the UV bandpass filters. Five minute job with a Yongnuo YN-680.
Most expensive part is the filters - you need both of them. One bleeds a tiny bit in the red spectrum and the other a tiny bit in the violet, contaminating the fluorescence. Put them both on and they cover each-other's impurities to exclusive UV.
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