The mysteries of ultra violet and infra red photography have long been a favourite phenomenon for experimentation among photography enthusiasts.
Now, by modifying a flash bulb so that it emits these light from the invisible spectrum, researchers appear to have created a way to take photos in relative low-lighting - without a visible burst of light.
As you can see from the green-tinted example image posted by New Scientist, the result aren't perfect. For one thing, the camera doesn't record the normal colour range. As New Scientist reports, the final image is created by colour-correcting the green-tinted dark flash image with data from a photo taken without the dark flash.
Interestingly, it is possible to convert a digital camera to take infra-red photos, though it's a one-way conversion. The photos have a distinctive style favored by some landscape and wedding photographers.
Ultra violet photography, on the other hand, is often associated with crime scene investigation. It can result in intriguing patterns and textures that are particularly suited to macro or photos of subject and surfaces that are relatively close, such as flowers.
Here is a video demonstrating the benefits of infra red photography: