daylaight | Strolls with my Dog

How do we translate captured image information into a stimulus that will produce the appropriate perception of color? It’s actually not that complicated^[1].

Recall from the introductory article that a photon absorbed by a cone type ( $\rho$ , $\gamma$ or $\beta$ ) in the fovea produces the same stimulus to the brain regardless of its wavelength^[2]. Take the example of the eye of an observer which focuses on the retina the image of a uniform object with a spectral photon distribution of 1000 photons/nm in the 400 to 720nm wavelength range and no photons outside of it.

Because the system is linear, cones in the foveola will weigh the incoming photons by their relative sensitivity (probability) functions and add the result up to produce a stimulus proportional to the area under the curves. For instance a $\gamma$ cone may see about 321,000 photons arrive and produce a relative stimulus of about 94,700, the weighted area under the curve:

equal-photons-per-wl — Figure 1. Light made up of 321k photons of broad spectrum and constant Spectral Photon Distribution between 400 and 720nm is weighted by cone sensitivity to produce a relative stimulus equivalent to 94,700 photons, proportional to the area under the curve

Continue reading Color: From Object to Eye →

This article will set the stage for a discussion on how pleasing color is produced during raw conversion. The easiest way to understand how a camera captures and processes ‘color’ is to start with an example of how the human visual system does it.

An Example: Green

Light from the sun strikes leaves on a tree. The foliage of the tree absorbs some of the light and reflects the rest diffusely towards the eye of a human observer. The eye focuses the image of the foliage onto the retina at its back. Near the center of the retina there is a small circular area called fovea centralis which is dense with light receptors of well defined spectral sensitivities called cones. Information from the cones is pre-processed by neurons and carried by nerve fibers via the optic nerve to the brain where, after some additional psychovisual processing, we recognize the color of the foliage as green^[1].

spd-to-cone-quanta3 — Figure 1. The human eye absorbs light from an illuminant reflected diffusely by the object it is looking at.

Continue reading An Introduction to Color in Digital Cameras →

Musings about Photography