Photographing Esperite using a Magenta Filter
Esperite is one of the most difficult minerals to photograph. The bright yellow of Esperite is very close to the bright green fluorescence of Willemite. The two together general blow out the exposure on most every camera. Most of the time, the esperite tends to look...
Photographing Esperite (and other “hard rocks”)
Originally posted on Nature's Rainbows in June 2016. I have a nickname for esperite pieces – I call them “hard rocks”, very hard to photograph. Our rocks “glow” like a lightbulb. Imagine trying to take a picture of a Christmas tree. The lights end up looking...
The Photobiology of UV Damage to Skin
A frequently recurring question within the Fluorescent Mineral Facebook Group is how UV affects the skin and eyes. At the annual NERF meeting In Nov 2013 an excellent talk and discussion on this topic was presented and documented by Howie Green. Below is a copy of...
Fluorescent Mineral Photography Studio
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow in 2022. While visiting my granddaughter in Florida I had time to revamp my daughter's UV light box. The old one was too small for the large specimens she's been photographing lately, and the lighting was...
Lighting Controls: Automatically Cycle Longwave, Shortwave, Midwave, and White light in your Display
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow. Over the years I've had requests for lighting controllers that would allow us to remotely control our different wavelength lights, as well as cycle through the lighting automatically, turning them on/off at a...
Crack that Rock! (You never know what’s inside)
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow. Seems to go without saying for most experienced fluorescent mineral collectors; rocks that sit exposed to the elements for millennia (give or take a few million years) develop a "rind" on the outside, oxidize,...
Catching the Afterglow: Taking Pictures of Phosphorescent Minerals
This article was originally published on Nature’s Rainbow. Many minerals exhibit an “afterglow” when the UV light is turned off. This glow can last for milliseconds or hours depending on the mineral. Some are very bright while others are barely perceptible. Examples...
UV Light: Demos & Experiments
Experiments on Ultraviolet Light and Fluorescence are performed by James Lincoln for the AAPT Films Project. Also explained are the three colors of UV and phosphorescence.
An introduction to UV bulbs and tubes
A good introduction to UVA (longwave), UVB (midwave), and UVC (shortwave). The focus of the video are the UV tubes or bulbs mostly used in the past as UV lights. With some considerations of uses and safety. Today, most of these lights are replaced by LEDs, in...
Ultraviolet light: 365nm vs 385nm
An old video with a quick explanation of the light spectrum and why 365nm is important to us as fluorescent mineral collectors (as well as filters) compared to 385nm LED lights (without filters). Of course this video is trying to sell something: a 365nm LED light for...