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This DIY multispectral phone camera reveals what’s underneath any painting

UV and IR light can, literally and figuratively, show us the world in a totally different light. One of their common uses is to examine painting for authenticity or damage inspection. Sean Billups made his own tool for inspecting paintings, and it’s actually relatively simple.

Using an old Google Pixel 3a phone, a simple 3D-printed part, and lots of patience, he created a multispectral phone camera. By simply turning a small wheel, it reveals the secrets of any painting. And with some patience, you can also do it yourself.

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I finally used my DIY UV box for making Van Dyke wet prints – Here’s my complete process

It’s been a little while since I built my UV Box but sometimes, life gets in the middle of our fun projects! Now, I’ve finally tested the UV Box and I can say that it works great. I made a test with two different negatives: a very soft flower subject lighted with painted light and a very sharp subject lighted with a very contrasty light. I wanted to see how this printing process deals with different subjects.

I proceeded with some step tests to find the corrected exposure for my negatives. I did 2 seconds steps and as you can see in the video, I was a little optimistic with my first strip of 2,4,6,8 seconds of exposure. In the end, the correct exposure resulted in 11 minutes.

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How to build your own DIY UV exposure box for when the sun won’t shine

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I was always told: if you have to do something, do it with your own style! So here is my Italian style UV box to expose the papers coated with antique photographic processes.

At the origin of photography, many technologies of printing required exposure to UV light. In those times, the sun was the perfect source and the exposure was usually made outdoor. But the quantity of UV light from the sun can vary a lot in different seasons or with different weather. Plus, baby it’s cold outside now in winter! For this reason, I decided to build a UV Box.

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This awesome UV video lets you see the world the way insects do

It’s always interesting to see something familiar in a totally new light. This is exactly what photographer Don Komarechka did in the latest video for DPReview TV. In this fun video, Don shows us how insects see the world using a modified camera and ultraviolet light. And it’s incredible how flowers we see every day suddenly become something completely new!

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Turn ordinary objects into extraordinary photos using only a UV light

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Using a UV light for photos can give you some spectacular results and give your images an unusual twist. Even when you illuminate ordinary subjects with it, they can look extraordinary. In this video, Mathieu Stern teamed up with fellow photographer Pierre-Louis Ferrer to show you what everyday objects look like in UV light, and inspire you to try it out yourself.

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Make your own DIY UV ring light for less than $20

No matter if you’re a professional or just like to play and experiment with the camera, blacklight photography opens up tons of new possibilities. If you’d like to try it out without breaking the bank, this tutorial from Eva Landry will show you how to transform your regular ring light into a blacklight ring light.

This project seems like lots of fun, it doesn’t require a lot of time to make, and it’s insanely affordable. The material will cost you less than $20, and a store-bought UV ring light costs over $200. So if you’re willing to give blacklight photography a shot, this can be a good start.

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UV camera & ringflash shows subjects in a whole new light with amazing results

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We’ve all seen the effects UV from sunlight has on human skin and why you should be heading for the sunscreen. But what about using it safely in a more creative manner? Thats’ what French UV and IR photographer Pierre-Louis Ferrer wanted to find out. So, he developed a UV ringflash, to shoot some crazy UV portraits, and see how different substances react to UV light.

In collaboration with weird lens guru, Mathieu Stern, this pair of videos show some pretty awesome results.  They also put together a behind the scenes video showing how the video was made, as well as the DIY UV ringflash.

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This photographer takes photos of flowers and plants using UV-induced visible fluorescence, and the results are beautiful

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I love photos of plants, flowers and nature. After seeing (and taking) my fair share of these, I started to believe it’s not easy to make them interesting and eye catching. And it’s been a while since I last saw a set of flower images that kept me staring at them with amazement. But then I discovered Craig Burrows‘ photos of flowers and plants which look like something out of this world.

Craig takes photos using a relatively unknown process called UVIVF, or “ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence.” It’s done by using high-intensity UV lights to illuminate the flowers, which then appear to be quite different than we know them.

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Watch these 10 fruits chopped up under UV light

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Going out of the visible light spectrum isn’t something most photographers think to try. But for a select few, seeing the invisible has become an integral part of their photography. Infrared conversions are common for DSLRs these days, and prices have come down greatly. What’s not seen so often, though, is UV photography.

Mathieu Stern delves into that realm a little with his latest video. Teaming up with fellow photographer Pierre-Louis Ferrer, Mathieu chops up some fruit under a UV blacklight. It’s an interesting look at how different surfaces react to different wavelengths of invisible light. The inside a pineapple, for example, become a rich purple flesh. The skins of tomatoes, however, turn jet black, reflecting nothing.

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Six great tips for creating freakishly awesome UV photography

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A few weeks ago, the folks from the Cooperative of Photography brought us an excellent video on taking our photography to the next level. One of the projects highlighted in that video was on UV photography. Starting simple and building it up to produce something amazing.

This time, the Cooperative are back with photographer Markus Berger and some amazing practical tips that will definitely help to take your UV photography to that next level they were talking about.

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