Chess by Candlelight

[Frank Schmidt]

Here's something you might not have seen before....

A glass chess set lit with UV blacklight.

Two things about this: I bought the blacklight at WalMart for about $15 US. It looks like a 24 inch flourescent light tube that is black/purple in color and plugs into wall outlet. So it was cheap to experiment with.

The other thing, you don't know how glass is going to "glow" until you turn the light on. Some does and some doesn't light up at all. I know I got the chess pieces in their wrong places on the board...it's been a long time since I played.

This must be done in a darkened room, no other lights on except the two candles and UV tube. No flash used. Oh, I added the 'color' curtain later during the exposure after turning off the blacklight.

Camera on tri-pod, f/5, ISO 160 using Canon 60D and 35mm prime lens. Here's the most important thing: 82 second exposure. ie, you need a "B" mode, bulb setting on your camera.

see experiments at: http://www.redbubble.com/people/frankschmidt

[Frank Schmidt]

I should have stepped back from the scene and used an 85mm lens to upright the wine glass on camera left. Wide angle near subject tilts it .

If you use a flash in this scene it will wash away the 'glow' of the blacklight on glass; I've tried it.

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/frank-schmidt.html

[FocalFrenzy]

I like the way this turned out. It's been several years since I've taken any shots under blacklight. Some of my favorites are of flourescent fishing line. Blue and green both work well. Also, you can make a solution using any liquid laundry detergent that has "Brightening or Whitening" agents in it. I use about a teaspoon of detergent added to a 3-5 ounce bottle of elmers glue to paint some of my Halloween props. This results in a nice blue glow. Thanks for sharing this. I feel inspired to try some more of these. With winter coming, blacklight experiments will help to fill the void until Spring.

[Frank Schmidt]

Have you tried UV white light? I see it in camping section of WalMart, used to attract bugs to insect killer. I have not tried it on glass yet.

I did another version of this image on a glass tabletop with the UV blacklight underneath . Very nice too.

http://www.redbubble.com/people/frankschmidt

[FocalFrenzy]

My family's been into Halloween for years. We set up our own yard "Haunt", so blacklight has always been my "Thing". I've never tried UV white. I'll have to experiment and see what I can get. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Frank Schmidt]

I loved Morticia !

She was one sexy neck sucker.