Any tips or advice on shooting under Ultra Viloet light apart from using a tripod?

-- Will (universalspectrum@yahoo.co.uk), November 07, 2001

Answers

I have never tried UV photography, but IIRC common photographic lenses block UV light. So, I am not sure if your experiment would succeed.

-- Marc Leest (mmm@n2photography.com), November 07, 2001.

Nikon used to make a medical Nikkor lens especially for UV photography. I don't know if it's still available, but if it is, it'll be very expensive.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), November 08, 2001.

I haven't done this in years, but... there are two aspects here. First, film *is* sensitive to UV radiation, thus the need for UV blocking filters at high altitudes. Your eyes are not sensitive to UV radiation, so if you purposely photograph at those wavelengths, you'll get something that might or might not look the way you saw it. It might be done with a filter that eliminates the visible light. That's mostly a scientific application. BTW, like IR, UV won't focus at the same spot as visible light. Some materials glow under UV, like fluorescent paints and some minerals. These materials convert UV radiation to regular visible light that you can photograph. (note that "light" is visible to the eye- if you can't see it, it's not technically considered "light"!) If you don't use a filter, this light will mix with whatever contribution the UV makes. That may or may not be what you want. It might give more of a sense of the original scene. You can also use a UV blocking filter, keeping the colors and intensities of the paint or whatever, more pure. You'll have to think about which approach makes sense for you, i.e., what effect are you looking for, then experiment.

-- Conrad Hoffman (choffman@rpa.net), November 08, 2001.