Thursday, January 10, 2013
"As the light dims, we literally perceive less color, prompting the famous painter Monet to exclaim, “Terrible how the light runs out, taking color with it.” In low light, our color-blind rods become more dominant in our vision. Additionally, of the three cone types, the one most sensitive in dim light is the cone that responds to blue. Thus in low light levels, we are less sensitive to reds and more sensitive to blues. This is partly why we perceive night as monochromatic and bluish, a phenomenon known as a Purkinje shift, or Purkinje effect (above).
Although this information might seem like a review of a high school science class, understanding how we perceive color explains the appearance of colored materials under colored light. Understanding the eye and how the images you see are translated to the brain also can help you to create images that capture your perception of what you saw ... " - from Illuminated Pixels by Virginia Wisslar