Photophys.com: The Science of Photography

Art/Photography and the Brain

Comments[1] 10:42AM Feb 18, 2009 by Charles in General

Writing “Science for the Curious Photographerâ€� has been a wonderful learning experience for me.  In fact, it has been life altering.  I never before realized the amazing job that our brain does in converting relatively poor 2D images from our two eyes into a stable, colored, 3D illusion of the world.  We perceive as real a representation, based on statistical inference, that is subject to contradictory illusions.  Psychologists are beginning to understand the mysteries of vision and are even exploring why some images appeal to the human mind more than others.  Michael Gazzaniga’s book, “Human,â€� is a great resource for those who are trying to understand the uniqueness of the human mind.  Also, Daniel Tammet’s elegant book “Embracing the Wide Skyâ€� presents an accessible and succinct introduction to the wonders of vision in the chapter “Light to Sight.â€�  My research has led me into the worlds of Surreal Art, Op Art, and Computer Vision.  All of this has enhanced my love of photography and image processing.

CNPA Outer Banks Photoshoot

Comments[0] 11:11PM Feb 12, 2009 by Charles in General

The Carolinas' Nature Photographers Association (cnpa.org) is a great organization.  On January 16 we gathered at Kill Devil Hills, NC, for a weekend of nature photography.  Saturday, Jan. 17, was reported to be the coldest day in five years, and on Sunday the 18th it rained all day.  However, 52 great images were submitted for the weekend photo contest on Sunday night.  We got together on Monday morning to view the images and to hear the judges conclusions.  You can see the images here.

 On Saturday at sunrise I was standing with a group of photographers in a field near Pungo Lake.  We were trying to photography Snow Geese, but they were too far away for my 100-400mm lens.  It was beautiful but cold (12F), and I was looking around for other photo opportunities.  Behind us were weeds and bamboo shoots backlighted and glistening.  I made a number of photographs handheld with my 28-135mm IS lens without really realizing what a wonderland of ice crystals was being displayed.  When I studied the images on my notebook computer that night, I saw the forest of crystals.  One of my images is shown here.  This image won second prize.  It is interesting to note that birds were not the subject of any of the award winning photographs.