The Perfect Lighting for Night Viewing

Outlaw_Aculeus

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 26, 2006
Messages
5
Greetings:

I was recently watching a show on the Discovery Channel about the habits of scorpions. All of the night shots were obviously done inside in controlled conditions and what struck me the most was the lighting that was used for shooting the scorpions at night. It was as if the scorpion was actually under the light of a partial moon and the stars. There was enough light to view the scorpion very well, yet not enough to disturb it. I had been using UV to view my Pandinus at night, but began to notice he would shy away after awhile and retreat to his hide. I have also read that UV light actually bothers scorpions. I want to know what the lighting was that the crew used to shoot the scorpions for the show. Was it conventional lights behind some kind of diffuser or gel, or was it perhaps LED lighting? Let me know about any suggestions you have, or if someone out there already has a solution of their own.

Thanks!



Devon
 

ctsoth

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 17, 2006
Messages
112
There a some flourescent lights that are used to simulate the moon for saltwater fish tanks, you may wish to look into that because I have the suspicion that is what they used.
 

Mark Newton

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 9, 2007
Messages
400
Dont use UV light, it does NOT occur naturally at night and may well infact harm your scorpion. Scorpions dont seem at all bothered by red light, so for viewing purposes I'd say go with low wattage red party types of globes. Otherwise dim fluro as suggested if you really want white light, but I'd say scorpions are going to see white light of any sort.
 

dazbuzz

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 14, 2007
Messages
140
i have an optical mouse and it has some sort of red light under it( don't know what kind) and i use that to look in the hides and the scorpions don't seem to mind:D
 

EAD063

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 3, 2006
Messages
1,415
The moon will slightly cause the cuticle to glow in the scorpion. The moon reflects light, including a small amount UV rays from the sun back to the earth. It appears it maybe at an altered length or that the light during the day overwhelms those UV rays produced by the sun, which is why in sunlight we see that slight emerald effect (on things like pandinus and het.) but not the vibrant glow witnessed under concentrated UV light such as a party bulb. ( I am not a scientist so the last 2 statements are speculator, the first two are correct though.)

Are you absolutely certain it was shot in a studio and just not a controlled outdoor environment?
 

polphot

Arachnopeon
Joined
Feb 5, 2007
Messages
31
Dont use UV light, it does NOT occur naturally at night and may well infact harm your scorpion. Scorpions dont seem at all bothered by red light, so for viewing purposes I'd say go with low wattage red party types of globes. Otherwise dim fluro as suggested if you really want white light, but I'd say scorpions are going to see white light of any sort.
i go with Mark Newton on this one. I only use UV just to amaze myself with their florescence but for some reason the red light (10/15watt red bulb on a focusable lampshade) by their keepers works. I believe that the red light is beyond their vision spectrum. For a color blind person, i know that reds are indistinguishable too.
 

Outlaw_Aculeus

Arachnopeon
Joined
Aug 26, 2006
Messages
5
Thanks, everybody, for your input! It's great to have a community like this to turn to when I have questions or contributions of my own. Feel free to keep the thoughts coming!

I have absolutely considered using red lights, as I heard about it before even buying my Pandinus. I guess what I really wanted to know was how best to approximate actual moon and starlight, since that is what would exist on the clear nights in the natural world, and the scorpions look so impressive stalking under the moonlight! EAD063, now that I think of it, I am not completely sure if it wasn't a controlled outdoor environment. It was a little while ago that I actually saw the show. But, still, there must be a way! Thanks again.



Devon
 
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EAD063

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 3, 2006
Messages
1,415
EAD063, now that I think of it, I am not completely sure if it wasn't a controlled outdoor environment. It was a little while ago that I actually saw the show. But, still, there must be a way! Thanks again.

Devon
May or may not have been, but most of what I've seen like that has been shot under full moon. Red lamps are good, I have a link somewhere where you can get a 60 watt for a few bucks, someone once said a simple red incandesant bulb works, I did try that once but it doesn't produce near the amount of heat as a bulb made for heating purpose.
 

skinheaddave

SkorpionSkin
Arachnosupporter +
Joined
Aug 15, 2002
Messages
4,341
lolol thats a laser.
Although some optical mice do use lasers, in this case it is likely a red LED, as it is in mine.

Wtih respect to moon lighting, I suspect that searching for information on movie lighting techniques would be a good starting point. It should be noted, however, that surface activity of scorpions is substantially reduced on nights with full moons, so one would likely be ill advised to use it permenently to illuminate a scorpion at night. I suppose one could get away with it if enough shading was provided -- but that would sort of defeat the purpose in the first place. Red light, on the other hand, can be wonderful in moderation.

Cheers,
Dave
 
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