Sunburn from a MH bulb
by
, 03-13-2010 at 02:49 PM (2210 Views)
So yesterday I was in the studio doing a photoshoot for a aquarium lighting manufacturer who hired me to shoot some product shots of a T5 & and a MH fixture. I had to remove the glass over the bulbs to cut back on the reflections created by the intense studio lighting. I ended up working on each fixture for a little over an hour each. And wrapped up the shoot and went home.
When I got home I noticed that my face and chest were red, but I thought it was just because I had just taken a really hot bath. So I didn't think much of it. Well last night while watching TV my eyes were itching and burning pretty bad so I thought I was tired and went to sleep. I get a text today from my assistant who put 2 and 2 together saying that he has UV burn on his eyes from the unshielded MH bulb. It makes perfect sense to me now. I effectively sunburned my eyes and my face and chest by being around an unshielded MH bulb.
It didn't take much. Like I said the whole shoot for that light took only a little over an hour, and I wasn't up on it closely for more than 10 minutes. But it was enough. Just a fair warning to anyone else that may find themselves in close proximity to a MH bulb that isn't covered with glass. Put on sunscreen and sunglasses!