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UltravioletPhotography

Aussie Bunyip


DaveO

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G'day from Down Under,

 

I'm still at the "swimming in treacle" stage in my UV photo voyage, but I have already learnt from this site enough to at least get within reach of the start line.

 

Many thanks to Bjorn and Andrea for giving life to this excellent site. I found you by some miraculous click of a search engine. The very first topic I read, how to get consistent colour balance, answered all my questions.

 

I recently gave a talk to camera club folk here in the Antipodes on "53 years @ f/8 - Only a record shot" which might ring a bell with other camera club members who have "been there, done that". My journey into the unknown started when I went to Birmingham University in 1960 to do Chemistry (photography was always an obsession rather than how I earned a crust). When they finally woke up to me I moved to Australia in 1967 and spent all my spare time in the great outdoors, rock climbing (easy stuff), bushwalking and photography of course. I was always a black & white darkroom man, I still think if you can't hold it, it is not a real photo. In the Good Old Days, I used a 'steam driven' screw-mount Pentax 35 mm camera and when I kidded myself I was getting serious I bought a battered Hasselblad 500 C/M (with a really flarey 50 mm silver lens). Then one day, feeling bored, I tried 35 mm IR film and was instantly hooked (Kodak HIE). Recently, having become digitised, I converted a Pentax K20D to IR (Camera Clinic in Melbourne for a top job), which I really like. As good as Konica IR film and NONE of the scratches or halation from Kodak HIE. Then earlier this year I noticed they were now offering full spectrum conversions so I got that done to my Pentax K-5 and here I am, pockets much lighter and no sign of the end!

 

I was sort of interested in macro long ago then reignited my interest a few years ago using my Pentax DSLR (started with K10D, then 20D, K-7, K-5 a Pentax tragic!) My wife, Sue, has always had green fingers and delights in growing Australian native wildflowers specialising in eremophilas (AKA emu bushes as there was a myth that the seed had to pass through an emu before they would grow, which may be true as most people propagate through cuttings). So I started a collection of macro shots, then got sucked into the crazy game of focus stacking (only with CS5). So, now all I want to do is UV shots of Aussie natives.

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

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Welcome as a Pentaxian Ambassador to the UVP siite - we are truly brand agnostic as long as the gear functions in UV :)

 

Looking forward to see UV stuff from down under and if there is anything you need help with just ask. A lot of talented members will try to assist you.

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Dave, hello and welcome! I hope you enjoy UltraVioletphotography.com.

 

I am totally excited to learn you are shooting a converted Pentax!!! I am desperate to get one in for use with my M42 lenses so I can get infinity focus. I will be eager to see how well the Pentax does in UV.

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Andrea,

I saw another of your posts about getting a K-5IIs modified. I guess it doesn't matter much but my understanding, confirmed by Bjorn's recent post, is that the AA filter gets removed anyway during the broadband conversion process so starting with either K-5, K-5II or K-5IIs may well end up with substantially the same result. The M42/K5 converter seems to work OK, my old Pentax lenses were all that fitting.

Cheers,

 

David

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That is correct - the modified camera will be stripped off any filter pack in front of the sensor. The Bayer matrix and microlenses normally stay as these are typically fused to the sensor.

 

Really looking forward to learn what our Pentax can do in UV. No personal experiences from Australia, but from my working days in New Zealand I learned the hard way that UV levels down under are massive. I got sunburned in no time. So direct sunlight should provide you with lots of UV illumination for your UV captures.

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We have a secret weapon down here, it's called the Antarctic ozone hole (due to all the fluorocarbons released by cans of hair spray :) )

Our weather forecasts for most of the year except winter - which finishes on Saturday B) have UV WARNINGS telling us when to avoid sticking our heads, legs etc out of doors (if you think I jest go to www.bom.gov.au) and we have a well followed campaign to counter the high rates of skin cancer, called Slip, Slap, Slop (referring to a top or T shirt, a hat, sunscreen) UV is serious stuff here!

Cheers,

 

David

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Being a girl and worrying about all that wrinkle stuff, my UV kit also contains a bottle of sunscreen.

Once the doc starts frying stuff off off one's face, sunscreen becomes a religion.

 

I like the Slip, Slap & Slop phrase. :)

I'm rather bad about wearing hats, but I'm trying. I always wear long sleeves when out shooting in strong sunlight.

 

Dave, I wanted to mention that we will look forward to your photographs of Australian native flowers. We would welcome them as formal publications in the botanical section if you are able to properly identify them and put the photograph into the standardized UV look we need for documentary stability.

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