![]() ![]() The ultraviolet energy causes the electrons of the atoms in these activators to move out of balance, expending a small amount of energy that is then released as visible light. Fluorescent materials (phosphors) impurities called “activators” that react to normally invisible ultraviolet energy. “Fluorescence works through electron displacement-all fluorescence, from synthetic blacklight posters to natural fluorescent minerals around the world,” says Padalino. While it wasn’t until the early 20th century that fluorescence began to be used as a common decoration, the effect is a naturally occurring trick of the light. Man and Woman I (Photo: Jeff Owenby/Used with Permission) A year later, Tide released a laundry soap in a plastic bottle made with Day-Glo fluorescent red pigment. “ the Hula-Hoop in 1958 made with ‘Day-Glo’ fluorescent pigments,” says Nick Padalino, owner and operator of Amsterdam’s Electric Ladyland, the first museum devoted to fluorescent art. ![]() (Photo: Jeff Owenby/Used with Permission) They founded the Day-Glo Color Corporation in 1946, giving fluorescent effects their popular nickname, and bringing the effect to the general public. Invented by brothers Joseph and Bob Switzer in the 1930s, fluorescent paint combined naturally fluorescing minerals and compounds with shellac to create pigments that would take on an eye-searing glow under ultraviolet black lights. The blacklight poster trend has its roots in the 1950s with the introduction of fluorescent paint to the mass market. Here’s where they came from and how they worked. Combining Art Nouveau, Surrealism, Pop Art, and countless other artistic styles with the relatively new (commercially anyway) phenomenon of fluorescence, these glow-in-the-dark posters became an icon of the Summer of Love and its youth culture. (Photo: Caren Anderson/Velveteria/Used with Permission)įor a magical time in the 1960s and ’70s, your wood-paneled basement hideaway wasn’t worth its weight in cheap weed and questionable acid without a collection of psychedelic blacklight posters. If you need a black background, go for the good velvet, it’s worth it and you’ll get a lot of use out of it.Yes, that poster is actually emitting light. They’re not as dense and I can’t vouch for their photographic results. Note: Be sure to get “premiere” velvet, not stretch velvet or any of the other lower priced “velvets”. Read more about JoAnn mobile coupons here. Still, this is hardly a steal, but my 40% off mobile coupon took the total price for that almost-yard of velvet to $14. ![]() Fortunately, the remnant bin delivered a discounted almost-a-yard sized piece for $26.42 (plus several more rolls – always check the remnants!!). My local JoAnn Fabrics wanted $30/yard for velvet cut straight from the bolt. Unfortunately, my 1-yard swatch of “premiere” velvet wasn’t going to come cheap. ![]() The easiest place to get a sheet of velvet is your local fabric store. Velvet is lush, rich, and black – and it stays that way in photos. This isn’t to say that off-black backgrounds aren’t beautiful in their own right, but if you need a pure black background, cotton and poster board aren’t going to cut it. PVC, polyester, cotton, felt, black paper – all of them go about 20 shades lighter when photographed. I bought a number of ( what I thought were) black placemats, only to be disappointed as they turned out grey and pale in photos. Solid black backgrounds are so bold and beautiful, but they are rather difficult to achieve with amateur equipment. I’m fascinated by black background photography. ![]()
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