page_title: Ultraviolet photography
section_title: Reflected UV photography
hierarchical_section_title: Ultraviolet photography / Equipment and techniques / Reflected UV photography
caption_attribution_description: English: A portrait taken using UV light between 335 and 365 nm
context_page_description: Ultraviolet photography is a photographic process of recording images by using light from the ultraviolet spectrum only. Images taken with ultraviolet light serve a number of scientific, medical or artistic purposes. Images may reveal deterioration of art works or structures not apparent under visible light. Diagnostic medical images may be used to detect certain skin disorders or as evidence of injury. Some animals, particularly insects, use ultraviolet wavelengths for vision; ultraviolet photography can help investigate the markings of plants that attract insects, while invisible to the unaided human eye. Ultraviolet photography of archaeological sites may reveal artifacts or traffic patterns not otherwise visible.
  Photographs made of various dyes that fluoresce under ultraviolet illumination are also useful.
context_section_description: In reflected UV photography the subject is illuminated directly by UV emitting lamps (radiation sources) or by strong sunlight. A UV transmitting filter is placed on the lens, which allows ultraviolet light to pass and which absorbs or blocks all visible and infrared light. UV filters are made from special colored glass and may be coated or sandwiched with other filter glass to aid in blocking unwanted wavelengths. Examples of UV transmission filters are the Baader-U filter or the StraightEdgeU ultraviolet bandpass filter, both of which exclude most visible and infrared light. Older filters include the Kodak Wratten 18A, B+W 403, Hoya U-340 and Kenko U-360 most of which need to be used in conjunction with an additional infrared blocking filter. Typically such IR blocking, UV transmissive filters are made from Schott BG-38, BG-39 and BG-40 glass. Filters for use with digital camera sensors must not have any "infrared leak" (transmission in the infrared spectrum); the sensor will pick up reflected infrared radiation as well as ultraviolet, which may obscure the details that would be resolved by ultraviolet alone.
  Most types of glass will allow longwave UV to pass, but absorb all the other UV wavelengths, usually from about 350 nm and below. For UV photography it is necessary to use specially developed lenses having elements made from fused quartz or quartz and fluorite. Lenses based purely on quartz show a distinct focus shift between visible and UV light, whereas the fluorite/quartz lenses can be fully corrected between visible and ultraviolet light without focus shift. Examples of the latter type are the Nikon UV-Nikkor 105 mm f/4.5, the Coastal Optics 60 mm f/4.0, the Hasselblad (Zeiss) UV-Sonnar 105 mm, and the Asahi Pentax Ultra Achromatic Takumar 85 mm f/3.5
  Suitable digital cameras for reflected UV photography have been reported to be the (unmodified) Nikon D70 or D40 DSLRs, but many others are suitable after having their internal UV and IR blocking filter removed. The Fujifilm FinePix IS Pro digital SLR camera is purpose-designed for ultraviolet (and infrared) photography, with a frequency response rated from 1000-380 nm, although it also responds to somewhat longer and shorter wavelengths. Silicon (from which DSLR sensors are made) can respond to wavelengths between 1100-190 nm.
caption: A portrait taken using only UV light between the wavelengths of 335 and 365 nanometers.
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