Jump to content
UltravioletPhotography

Hello, all


Tom Bates

Recommended Posts

Hi, I am Tom Bates, from Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA. I am just getting started in UV photography, having acquired an 11w UVTools SW lamp and a Convoy S2+. I use an older Nikon DSLR, and hope to get lots of ideas from all of you as to how to modify and augment my tools to take UV photos. Nature subjects, especially geology, are my main interest.
Link to comment

Hello Tom, and welcome to UVP!! We have a lot of reference material here which I hope will be useful. And we are always happy to answer any questions.

 

I must echo John's warning: Please do not use shortwave UV illumination. 254 nm is germicidal, will harm DNA and cause retinal damage.

 

Also, no commercial camera (converted or not) can reach down to the 254nm level so reflected UV photography is not feasible at 254 nm. Shortwave UV is typically used by mineralogists to induce fluorescence in their gems and minerals. But they use 254 nm lamps within a safe viewing box.

 

Now you may very well already know this as I read between the lines given that you mentioned geology as an interest. So please forgive me if I've hammered you with something you already know!! I must always make sure that any of my readers without knowledge of the dangers of 254 nm are warned.

 

You'll do fine for reflected UV using your Convoy or outdoors in sunshine. :D We are all loving those Convoy torches, a nice find. And of course they are also great for inducing visible fluorescence to photograph in the dark.

Link to comment

Welcome,

Over the 10 years I have been dabbling in Uv photography, I would say that now is the cheapest time to jump in. Very low cost lenses have been identified and are listed here in the lens sticky, filters are also well characterized and there are cheaper options then just a Baader venus, if you don't mind stacking. Now with LEDs, light sources are also effective and cheap.

So have lots of fun. It will no longer break the bank.

Link to comment

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...