Color Vision 6: The Eye and the Camera

Your eye and your camera "see" differently. The eye roams around and focuses on many points within its field of view—it is constantly active and any peripheral vision limitations are compensated for by a simple turn of the neck. The camera only “sees” in rectangular frames, and focus is fixed on one plane, modified by the depth of field you set via aperture choices. Its peripheral vision is determined by the focal length you choose when using the zoom, or with primes (fixed focal length lenses), by the focal length of that lens.

The top photo was made with "default" or factory settings of the camera. While fairly true to the cast of light on that day, it lacks the "punch" of rich colors created by choosing a "saturated" picture control. Knowing how you want to interpret a scene points you in the direction of making certain settings that will communicate the emotional qualities of the scene you want to express and bring the image more into line with how your mind interprets it.

The colors you record depend upon the prevailing cast of the light under which you photograph, and how you set the color balance accordingly. The eye adapts and constantly balances color, regardless of the source of illumination. For example, a white shirt will be seen as white regardless of the color cast (unless it is very strong), even under artificial light. If you do not adjust color balance (known as white balance) in your camera under, say, incandescent light, it will record as much warmer than the eye sees.

The eye dilates and constricts to adjust for changes in brightness, and while color reception is lessened in low light, that adjustment is automatic. When photographing, we must adjust the ISO according to the light level. That’s because at the moment of exposure the aperture and shutter speed settings record  the energy of the light in one fixed pulse.

In short, the eye/mind is both receptor and active participant in perception, while the sensor in a digital cameras reacts to and records light according to set rules of exposure and sensitivity.

The difference between these two exposures is in white balance settings. The top image was made using "daylight" white balance and one below is made on "tungsten" white balance. Recognizing color casts and changing them to match what the eye sees (top) and what the camera records is an important aspect of aligning what the eye and the camera sees.

The above may seem obvious, but one of the factors in making images with a camera is that we cannot presume that the sensor will respond to what we see in the viewfinder, regardless of the circumstances or lighting conditions. Understanding how the two differ in their response to light, and how we can modify camera functions to make them more in tune with what the mind perceives (and interprets) is one of the most important, and perhaps least understood and appreciated aspects of photography.

The eye (and by that I mean the mind and eye combination) is an amazing instrument that continually sends messages to the brain, where they are woven with other impulses to form images, the codes that form our perception of the world. By comparison, the camera is a light sponge that captures and holds different brightness values and colors. In short, the camera is a machine. We ascribe value and connotation to those brightness values later, when we view the image as a representation of something we previously saw. Again, the eye is active, the camera is passive and requires our active and creative intercession to blend perception and interpretation within our image.

Next posting: The mechanics of image recording.

Color Vision 4

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 Color Relationships

Color relationships within a scene create feelings of harmony or discord, of calm or excitement to the eye. Certain color relationships form the basis for color play that has proven fruitful for artists through the centuries.

There are special sets of colors that seem to form a unique bond. Look at the work of painters such as Cezanne, Monet or Seurat, and the photography of Pete Turner or Ernst Haas, and you will discover how color relationships play a special role in both enhancing content and drawing the eye into the scene.

The setting sun striking these bushes on a stream bank  creates an offset against the shaded blue of the rocks and stream behind them, reinforcing and heightening each color and area within the frame. 

One set of relationships are complementary colors, such as red/green, orange/blue, and yellow/violet, opposites on the color wheel. When both colors are present, and in close proximity, they intensify one another. For example, a red or yellow flower will always stand out more against a field of green. The degree of richness and brightness of these opposites also has an effect on the power of the visual response.

The "complementary effect" may explain why we are so dazzled by sunsets. When orange/red clouds intermix with blue we tend to pause to consider the display. Mixed colors in the sky are always more fascinating than a continuous-tone blue.

When colors come from the same general band of the spectrum they are said to be of the same "family". They harmonize with one another, and have an effect on the scene’s mood. We tend to describe these families as "warm" (red, yellow, orange) or "cool" (blue, violet, green.)

The unity and harmony of this bucolic scene is created by the dominance of the warm color cast by the rising sun. 

People have different reactions to certain color relationships. Some tend to find cooler color scheme restful; others find them “cold” and less inviting. Some say that warmer plays are more intense, while others find them peaceful. A "cool" image may be made of a forest floor under a canopy of trees; a "hot" color scheme might be the range of colors in a desert sandstone formation.

Images can benefit from a hint of complementary or even anomalous color thrown in: these "hints" of complements are like strong accents that can attract the eye. Having a dash of "cool" colors in an overall "warm" color scheme can be very effective, and vice versa. Playing with color families and then spicing it with complements can heighten the vividness of any scene.

While the overall effect here is of a "cool" scene (blue dominated), the small branches and red leaf create an accent that catches the eye.

Another fascinating color effect is provided by monochrome (not black and white but color play within the same hue). When we seek monochrome color compositions we are exploring a relatively narrow band of color, with slight variations in saturation and brightness. This differs from black and white photography, where we are dealing with shades of gray, but is analogous to black and white in that texture and tonality can be explored.

This canyon wall is dominated by warm colors within a fairly narrow range of the spectrum, but the lights and darks and streaks of white create a textural visual play. 

The color schemes and plays you choose for your photographs comes down to your taste and subjective reaction to a scene, and there is no right and wrong in what you choose to do. But study of color relationships will open your eyes to more possibilities, and taking chances with color can lead to some exciting results.

Next post: Some color vision exercises