Colour Perception and the Photographer
12th December 2024
In: News, Members' Articles
I have recently embarked on a lens upgrade. No, please do not get too excited. I have not succumbed to the wooing of Leica's marketing men and women. I am talking about the eyes I was given at birth. With age, they deteriorate. For some people, this process starts around ‘mid-life’ or even earlier. I was given a warning by my optician that cataracts had appeared nearly two decades ago, but the rate of change stalled. I thought that I might have escaped the need for an operation. Not so! In late summer this year I experienced rapid deterioration and double vision, affecting my stability and risks of falling. I was referred for further specialist examination and an operation became quite urgent.
Conveniently, I waited until I could receive my new lens locally, though I have to confess that I was in no position to check whether it bore that little red ‘Leica dot’. Somehow, I doubt it. The new lens is settling in, without any serious problems, and a programme unfolds for my second eye to be rejuvenated in due time, hopefully fairly soon. However, it is not too early to evaluate the stage 1 benefits.
My consultant, a Polish lady with fluent command of spoken English, promised me that I would notice a significant improvement in my sight. I assumed she was referring to ‘focus and clarity’. And I certainly did. Within a day or two, I had no need for spectacles for my new eye lens except perhaps, for the reading of very small, low-contrast print, such as is used in picture captions on some websites. However, my old eye, which still had its old lens, certainly did need help.
For the interim period, while awaiting my second eye's treatment, I decided that I was more comfortable when not wearing my old bifocals. Doing so had a retrograde impact on how my brain accepted the new lens. (Current practice is not to remove redundant lenses from old spectacles. So I haven't. Neither am I wearing them.)
A surprise - new colour values
Living with both old and new ‘eyes’ had one extra surprise in store for me. I had no idea that my cataracts not only degraded the clarity of my vision, but also my colour perception. My thoughts are that my old eyes were behaving as if they had yellow, yellow-green or possibly orange filters permanently attached to them. It is clear that blue waves of light were no longer being transmitted to my brain. For example, Christmas Cactus flowers, conveniently already in bloom, appear to be fuchsia pink with my new eye, but distinctly red with my old eye. With my new eye, the ‘blue hour’ looks more clearly blue. Just imagine the impact on my photography, or indeed on every artist's colour perception! Who would have thought that my cataracts treatment would have chromatic implications?
According to Google, quote “Colour (color) blindness (colour vision deficiency, or CVD) affects approximately 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women. In the UK there are approximately 3 million colour blind people (about 4.5% of the entire population), most of whom are male”. Unquote
Colour perception is very subjective. Not until you take colour fidelity seriously, for example, using a grey card to eliminate or control colour contamination during the practice of photography, are you aware of variations of colour perception nationwide. Statistically, males are more likely to have colour perception (CP) issues, than females, although the latter are certainly not immune. It is a critical factor in selecting specialists in many professions.
It is possible that there are more changes to be identified in the future, once my treatment is complete and my eyes have settled. Certainly eye cataracts' treatment is not just about restoring eye focusing and clarity, but also about correcting one aspect of colour perception.
I think this subject will be of interest to members, whether or not they have CP issues. It is little wonder that many non-professional photographers prefer monochrome photography, thereby bypassing the challenge of colour fidelity.
In conclusion, and on a personal note, my investigation has provided an agreed answer to how my wife and I describe the colour of an everyday table napkin. Now that we each have a ‘new’ eye, I agree with her on the colour which is cerise pink. But when we switch to our ‘old’ eyes, we now agree on the contaminated colour, bright red (as shown above). Anyone with cataracts, regardless of the stage of development, sees a degraded colour version of life around them. A sobering thought!
LATE POSTSCRIPT
I found a yellow filter which I used to produce the above image. Counting cells from left to right, and top to bottom, cells numbered 18 and 23 show more clearly the degradation of the two blue cell patches. That is what my old eye sees! So my cataracts acted like yellow filters and were blind to blue light. That effect was in addition to wreaking havoc with my focusing and clarity of vision. There is no doubt in my mind; if you are diagnosed with cataracts, have them treated at the earliest opportunity, at least for artists and serious photographers.
Conveniently, I waited until I could receive my new lens locally, though I have to confess that I was in no position to check whether it bore that little red ‘Leica dot’. Somehow, I doubt it. The new lens is settling in, without any serious problems, and a programme unfolds for my second eye to be rejuvenated in due time, hopefully fairly soon. However, it is not too early to evaluate the stage 1 benefits.
My consultant, a Polish lady with fluent command of spoken English, promised me that I would notice a significant improvement in my sight. I assumed she was referring to ‘focus and clarity’. And I certainly did. Within a day or two, I had no need for spectacles for my new eye lens except perhaps, for the reading of very small, low-contrast print, such as is used in picture captions on some websites. However, my old eye, which still had its old lens, certainly did need help.
For the interim period, while awaiting my second eye's treatment, I decided that I was more comfortable when not wearing my old bifocals. Doing so had a retrograde impact on how my brain accepted the new lens. (Current practice is not to remove redundant lenses from old spectacles. So I haven't. Neither am I wearing them.)
A surprise - new colour values
Living with both old and new ‘eyes’ had one extra surprise in store for me. I had no idea that my cataracts not only degraded the clarity of my vision, but also my colour perception. My thoughts are that my old eyes were behaving as if they had yellow, yellow-green or possibly orange filters permanently attached to them. It is clear that blue waves of light were no longer being transmitted to my brain. For example, Christmas Cactus flowers, conveniently already in bloom, appear to be fuchsia pink with my new eye, but distinctly red with my old eye. With my new eye, the ‘blue hour’ looks more clearly blue. Just imagine the impact on my photography, or indeed on every artist's colour perception! Who would have thought that my cataracts treatment would have chromatic implications?
My 'colorchecker' photographed under mixed lighting after correction to remove colour contamination. Colours are as accurate as I can present them.
According to Google, quote “Colour (color) blindness (colour vision deficiency, or CVD) affects approximately 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women. In the UK there are approximately 3 million colour blind people (about 4.5% of the entire population), most of whom are male”. Unquote
Colour perception is very subjective. Not until you take colour fidelity seriously, for example, using a grey card to eliminate or control colour contamination during the practice of photography, are you aware of variations of colour perception nationwide. Statistically, males are more likely to have colour perception (CP) issues, than females, although the latter are certainly not immune. It is a critical factor in selecting specialists in many professions.
It is possible that there are more changes to be identified in the future, once my treatment is complete and my eyes have settled. Certainly eye cataracts' treatment is not just about restoring eye focusing and clarity, but also about correcting one aspect of colour perception.
I think this subject will be of interest to members, whether or not they have CP issues. It is little wonder that many non-professional photographers prefer monochrome photography, thereby bypassing the challenge of colour fidelity.
The picture simulating the old eye was taken using an old Leica yellow-green glass filter in front of my camera lens. A pure yellow filter might have given a more accurate simulation of what I actually see. Less blue light is passing than is shown in my simulation. However, it shows an example of chromatic distortion suffered while living with cataracts. Note also the delineation
in texture of the red/cerise pink colours of the background napkin
in texture of the red/cerise pink colours of the background napkin
In conclusion, and on a personal note, my investigation has provided an agreed answer to how my wife and I describe the colour of an everyday table napkin. Now that we each have a ‘new’ eye, I agree with her on the colour which is cerise pink. But when we switch to our ‘old’ eyes, we now agree on the contaminated colour, bright red (as shown above). Anyone with cataracts, regardless of the stage of development, sees a degraded colour version of life around them. A sobering thought!
LATE POSTSCRIPT
I found a yellow filter which I used to produce the above image. Counting cells from left to right, and top to bottom, cells numbered 18 and 23 show more clearly the degradation of the two blue cell patches. That is what my old eye sees! So my cataracts acted like yellow filters and were blind to blue light. That effect was in addition to wreaking havoc with my focusing and clarity of vision. There is no doubt in my mind; if you are diagnosed with cataracts, have them treated at the earliest opportunity, at least for artists and serious photographers.
Copyright David Askham 2024
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Comments
By MR STEPHEN ARNOLD: Very Interesting By Melinda Stone: Thank you for this interesting article. It reminds me that my late mother was horrified (and rather cross with the family) after she had cataract surgery to discover that her outfits - she predominantly wore blue clothes - did not colour match in the way she had thought they did. She felt we should have told her. Her experience suggests that perhaps perception of colour by someone with CP is also affected by the composition the material (eg wool vs cotton). By Cled Lewis: I agree with everything you have said about the improvements after a cataract operation.
We all expect an improvement in sharpness and contrast but the improvement in colour perception was a revelation.
If anyone has a cataract problem then like David I would urge you to get it sorted.
The operation is very routine for the surgeon even though you might be apprehensive and it really is nothing to worry about.
By the way, the kit used in both my operations was Zeiss. By Alan Humphries: Indeed David, I had both eyes done some three years ago, what a revelation, colours just popped, it was just like seeing all over again. By Keith Walker: Pleased to read it went well and hope you get second eye done soon.
I have heard others say the brightness of colours were marked after the procedure. Very clever to reproduce impact on ColorChecker By Sue Lawler: As a piece of research this must be a "first". The clarity of the presentation is faultless. Thank you David for it. By David Askham: Stephen, Melinda, Cled, Alan, Keith and Sue, thank you for making time to comment on my findings on Colour Perception. Your comments are greatly appreciated. Melinda's story about her mother added a delightfully light touch to a serious subject. My humble thanks to you all.