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Have you ever noticed the Purkinje Shift?

Aug 27, 2016 by Daniela Bowker 1 Comment

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Heath sunset

The chances are as a photographer that you pay close attention to light and colour, even if you don’t have a camera in your hand. It’s possible then that you might have noticed how your colour perception changes as the light fades.

It’s self-evident that we have no colour vision in the dark. You only have to wake up in the night, give your eyes a moment to adjust, and see for yourself.

But have you noticed how anything that’s red, or perhaps yellow or orange, tends to appear more dull as the light fades while anything that’s blue looks more vivid?

That’s because human vision is dependent on rod and cones cells within the retina. Cones are responsible for photopic vision, making them active in well-lit conditions. Rods, on the other hand, are responsible for scotopic vision, or when it’s dark. Cone cells are capable of detecting colour, whereas rods are essentially colour blind but more sensitive to light at the bluer end of the spectrum.

In failing light we will be able to detect blues and greens above reds and yellows, with the former appearing brighter and the latter more dull. The prevalence of blue-grey tones can give everything a subtle, slightly mystical appearance.

This period of visual transition is know as the Purkinje Shift. (Or Purkinje Effect, both are acceptable terms.)

And if you did happen to be taking photos while your eyes are adapting to the fading light, you might well notice that the subtle blues and misty greys that you saw aren’t rendered entirely accurately by your camera. Your images might look a little more yellow. Maybe even more garish.

Your eyes or memory have not failed you and your camera is still working.

It is of course because your camera doesn’t have rods and cones. It simply detects light, wherever on the spectrum it falls. Where we might be seeing reds as dull and blues as more pronounced, the camera is detecting them as it always does. Our photos won’t necessarily resemble what we saw.

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Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: color, light, Purkinje Effect, Purkinje Shift

About Daniela Bowker

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Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

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