Photography is a form of visual communication and a category

of modern visual art, which simply means that photographs

are made to be seen by a group of people other than the artist
himself. Successful artists, by intent or by instinct, make use of
the fundamentals of human visual perception to improve their
works of art. The human reaction to an image is a complex mix
of physics, emotion and experience. However, understanding the
limits of human vision allows the photographer to distinguish
between essential and irrelevant technical accomplishment.
Three essential components are required to make human vision
possible. There must be a sufficient amount of light, a light-
gathering device to receive and arrange the light into structured
optical information, and a processor to sort and administer this
information to make it available for further decision and action.
In the human visual system, eye and brain work closely together
to gather, arrange and process the light around us.

Electromagnetic Spectrum and Light

Modern humans are constantly exposed to a wide range of
electromagnetic radiation (fig.1), but we hardly ever think about
it, because our daily lives are filled with radio and television
signals, radar, microwaves and the occasional x-ray exposure at
the doctor’s office. Low-frequency radiation, such as in radio and
television signals, carries little energy and has no effect on the
human body. It cannot be seen or felt. Higher frequencies, such
as infrared radiation, can be felt by the skin as warmth, and even
higher frequencies, such as UV and x-rays, carry sufficient energy
to be harmful to humans with prolonged exposures. The highest
frequencies, such as gamma radiation and cosmic rays, are packed
with energy and would put an end to life on earth, if it were not
for the planet’s sensitive atmosphere and its strong magnetic field
to protect us. However, most electromagnetic radiation bombards
us constantly without ever being detected by any of our senses.
There is only a tiny range of frequencies, with a wavelength from
roughly 400-700 nm, to which our eyes are sensitive to. It is
the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, better known
© 1936 by Dorothea Lange, Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection, [LC-USF34-9058-C]
Eye&Brain 101
 Data Sheet of the Human Eye
focal length at infinity 17 mm
comfortable min focus distance 250 mm
typical aperture range f/2 - f/8
dynamic contrast range 1,000 : 1
max sensitivity range 1,000,000,000 : 1
standard visual angle 1 arc minute
min optical resolution 30 lp/degree
min reading resolution 7 lp/mm

fig.2a anatomy of the human eye

fig.2c population of rods and cones across the retina

100

80

modulation transfer factor [%]

pupil diameter
2 mm
4 mm
60 6 mm
8 mm

40

actually an essential introduction to the basic phenomena

20
of human vision.
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
The Human Eye
fig.2b spectral sensitivity of the human eye
spacial frequency [cycles/degree]
The human eye is often compared to a photographic
camera, because the eye, a sophisticated organ capable of fo-
fig.2e visual acuity of the human eye cusing an image onto a light-sensitive surface, is very similar
to lens, camera and film (fig.2a), but with some significant
differences in operation. The eye is a light-tight hollow sphere
as ‘light’. Within this range, the human eye sees (sclera), containing
changes in wavelength as a change of hue. fig.2a-e The human eye is often an optical system
compared to a photographic camera, (cornea and lens),
The Anatomy of Human Vision because the eye, a sophisticated which focuses the
Before we get into the human visual system organ capable of focusing an image i nc om i n g l i g ht
as a whole, it makes sense to initially understand onto a light-sensitive surface, is onto a light-sensi-
the optical performance and visual functionality very similar to lens, camera and tive surface (retina)
of eye and brain individually. What may come film, but with some significant to create an upside-
across as a small lesson in human anatomy is differences in operation. down and reversed
fig.2d visual acuity across retina image. The amount

102 The Polymath Handbook

of incoming light is controlled by the iris, which adjusts the Color Vision
aperture (pupil) as needed. The retinal image is converted All rods are of a similar design, highly specialized
into electrical impulses by millions of light-sensitive receptors for low-light sensitivity. However, cones come in three,
and transmitted to the brain via the optical nerve. and sometimes four, different varieties randomly dis-
Sharp focusing is controlled by the ring-shaped ciliary tributed across the retina, and each kind produces a
muscle, which surrounds the lens and is able to change its different type of light-sensitive protein(retinol, vitamin
curvature. The muscle contracts to bulge the lens, allowing A, transducin,rhodopsin or opsin), making it sensitive
us to focus on nearby objects, and it relaxes or expands to to different wavelengths of light. When struck by
flatten the lens for far-distance viewing. Changing the opti- photons, they release sodium or potassium ions,which
cal power of the lens, to maintain clear focus as the viewing stimulate neural transmitters. This enables the typical
distance changes, is a process known as accommodation. trichromatic(RGB) human color vision, very similar
As we get older, the lens loses its flexibility, and it becomes to the way red, green and blue color receptors enable
increasingly more difficult to focus on close objects. color imaging in digital camera sensors!
At infinity focus, the average lens has a focal length of The eye’s reaction to the external stimulus of light is
roughly 17 mm. When fully open and adapted to low light an activity, not a passive response. It is the activity of the
levels, the pupil has a diameter of about 8 mm, which the iris retina. When the eye’s retina receives a full impression
can quickly reduce to about 2 mm in order to compensate for of light, or when whiteness appears, it is fully active.
very bright conditions and to protect the retina from irrevers- When light is absent, or when blackness appears, the In summary, rods give us sensitive night
ible damage. In photographic terms, this is equivalent to an retina is inactive(seeadditive color model). vision (scotopic) and cones add colorful
f/stop range from f/2 to f/8, covering a subject brightness The gene,responsible for color vision, can be found day vision (photopic) to our sense of sight
range of 4 stops or a 16:1 ratio. in the DNA molecule of the female ‘X’ chromosome. (fig.2b). Combining the static and dynamic
The retina is lined with light-sensitive receptors of two Females have two X-chromosomes(X-X),one inherited sensitivity range of the retina, and adding
types, called rods and cones, which are only responsive to from the mother and the other from the father. Males the light-regulating support of the iris,
dim and bright light, respectively. At any given time, rods have an X and a Y-chromosome(X-Y),the X inherited
and cones provide a static sensitivity range of about 6 stops. from the mother and the Y inherited from the father.
However, rods and cones are able to dynamically alter their Therefore, color-blindness is typically inherited from
sensitivity by regulating the amount of a light-sensitive dye the mother.
they contain. This enables the retina to adapt to a light- A small percentage of the human population,(~2%)
intensity range of 1,000,000:1 and adds 20 stops of dynamic of females, have an extra type of cone with a high-
sensitivity to its static range. er sensitivity to yellow, consequently, they can
Fully building up the light-sensitive dye takes about 8 distinguish between far more colors and are called
minutes in cones and up to 30 minutes in rods, which is a tetrachromates(RGBY). On the other hand,~2% of
process called dark-adaptation. This explains why our vi- males are missing either the red or the green cone type
sion improves only slowly, when we move from a bright to a and are, therefore, called color-blind dichromates(RB
dimly lit room. In the reverse process, rods and cones rap- or (GB). Moreover, monochromates(B) must rely solely
idly dispose of the dye, in order to safely adapt to a brighter on the blue cone type and as a result, have no true color
environment. This is referred to as light adaptation and is vision at all. Nevertheless, in average,the human eye is
typically completed within 5 minutes. able of distinguishing between around 10 Million colors.

Eye&Brain 103
provides the human eye with an enormous Color Theory
sensitivity range of 1,000,000,000:1 or 30 f/ In the visual arts, color theory or colour theory is a body of practi-
stops(230) and 10 Million colors, as long as we cal guidance to color mixing and the visual effects of a specific
give it the time to adapt to the dimmest and color combination. There are also definitions (or categories) of
brightest lighting conditions possible. colors based on the color wheel: primary color, secondary color,
There are millions of rods and cones and tertiary color. Although color theory principles first ap-
distributed across the retina, but unlike the peared in the writings of Leone Battista Alberti (c. 1435) and the
light-sensitive particles of a silver-gelatin notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1490), a tradition of ‘colory
emulsion, rods and cones are not distributed theory’ began in the 18th century, initially within a partisan
uniformly (fig.2c). Rods predominantly popu- controversy over Isaac Newton’s theory of color (Opticks, 1704)
late the outer surface area of the retina, whereas and the nature of primary colors. From there it developed as an
cones are primarily found around the center. independent artistic tradition with only superficial reference to
Furthermore, there are two small areas on the colorimetry and vision science.
retina that are quite different from the rest, and The foundations of pre-20th-century color theory were built
they deserve some special attention. around “pure” or ideal colors, characterized by different sensory
Close to the center of the retina is a small Fig.2e shows how a wide-open pupil (8 mm) is limited to 30 lp/ experiences rather than attributes of the physical world. This
indentation, called the fovea. Its center, the degree, a normal pupil opening (4 mm) achieves about 60 lp/mm, has led to a number of inaccuracies in traditional color theory
fovea centralis, which is also the center of hu- and a very small pupil (2 mm) can resolve up to 90 lp/mm. For principles that are not always remedied in modern formulations.
man vision, is only 1 mm in diameter. The fovea the purpose of viewing photographs, we can assume an optical The main problem has been a confusion between the behav-
contains almost exclusively cones and very resolution of the human eye of 30-90 lp/mm, which is equivalent ior of light mixtures, called ‘additive color’, and the behavior of
few rods. In fact, nowhere else on the retina to viewing angles of 20-60 arc minutes and covers the range from paint, ink, dye, or pigment mixtures, called ‘subtractive color’.
are cones so densely populated as in the fovea. standard to critical viewing conditions. This problem arises due to the absorption of light by material
Here, the distance between cones is as small About 20° from the center of the fovea is the optical disc. This substances, which follows different rules from the perception of
as 2.5 µm, and because of this, humans have is the location where the optical nerve is attached to the eye. The light by the eye.
excellent visual acuity in bright light. However, optical disc is entirely free of rods or cones, and this complete Another problem has been the failure to describe the effect of
peak performance is limited to a relatively small lack of light receptors is the reason why the optical disc is also strong luminance(lightness) contrasts in the appearance of colors
angle of view, only a few degrees, concentrated referred to as the 'blind spot'. Amazingly, the blind spot does reflected from a surface (such as paints or inks) as opposed to
around the fovea (fig.2d). Everything outside not disturb human vision at all, because the brain makes use of colors of light; “colors” such as browns or ochres cannot appear
this narrow field of view blends into our surrounding optical impulses in order to fill in for the missing in mixtures of light. A strong lightness contrast between a mid-
relatively fuzzy peripheral vision. Nevertheless, image information. valued yellow paint and a surrounding bright white makes the
about 50% of the optical impulses, sent to the yellow appear to be green or brown, while a strong brightness
brain, come from the fovea, and therefore, we contrast between a rainbow and the surrounding sky makes the
can assume an optical resolution of the human yellow in a rainbow appear to be a fainter yellow, or white.
eye of at least 30-60 line pairs per degree. The Another issue has been the tendency to describe color effects
optical resolution of the eye also depends on holistically or categorically, for example as a contrast between
the diameter of the pupil or, consequently, on “yellow” and “blue” conceived as generic colors, when most color
illumination levels. Similar to a photographic effects are due to contrasts on three relative attributes which
lens, overall optical performance increases with define all colors.
decreasing aperture until diffraction takes over.

104 The Polymath Handbook

 the additive RGB color model used
for mixing light

subtractive CMYK color

models as used
in ink-jet printers the colorwheel(Farbkreis) of
and mixing paints Johannes Itten(Bauhaus)
from 1961,showing
These confusions are partly historical, and arose in scientific un- complementary or opposing hues that are produced by color af- primary,secondary and
certainty about color perception that was not resolved until the late terimages and in the additive color mixing classificationof colored tertiary colors in thepopular
19th century, when the artistic notions were already entrenched. light or Subtractive color mixing classification of pigment colors. subtractive RYB color model
They also arise from the attempt to describe the highly contextual These ideas and many personal color observations were summa-
and flexible behavior of color perception interms of abstract color rized in two founding documents in color theory: ‘The Theory of
sensations that can be generated equivalently by any visual media. Colors’ (1810) by the German poet Johann Wolfgang von
Many historical color theorists have assumed that three Goethe, and’The Law of Simultaneous Color Contrast’
‘pure’primary colors can mix all possible colors, and any failure (1839) by the French industrial chemist Michel
of specific paints or inks to match this ideal performance is due Eugène Chevreul. Charles Hayter published A
to the impurity or imperfection of the colorants. In reality, only New Practical Treatise on ‘The Three Primitive
imaginary ‘primary’ colors used in colorimetry can ‘mix’ or Colors’ Assumed as a Perfect System of Ru-
quantify all visible (perceptually possible colors); but to do this, dimentary information (London 1826), in
andthese imaginary primaries are defined as lying outside the which he described how all colours could be
range of visible colors; i.e., they cannot be seen. Any three real obtained from just three.
primary colors of light, paint or ink can mix only a limited range
of colors, called a gamut, which is always smaller (contains fewer
colors) than the full range of colors humans can perceive.
Color theory was originally formulated in terms of three pri-
mary or primitive colors—red, yellow and blue (RYB), because
these colors were believed capable of mixing all other colors.
The RYB primary colors became the foundation of 18th century
theories of color vision, as the fundamental sensory qualities that
are blended in the perception of all physical colors and equally
in the physical mixture of pigments or dyes. These theories were
enhanced by 18th-century investigations of a variety of purely
psychological color effects, in particular the contrast between

Eye&Brain 105
 cerebral cortex

The Human Brain parietal lobe

star, thousands of light-years away. This astonishing capability
Comparing the human eye to a camera frontal lobe is only possible with the support from the brain, because in
and lens does not fully appreciate the so- occipital lobe reality, we do not look at a scene in fixed steadiness. Instead,
phisticated functionality of this complex prefrontal lobe our brain controls a constant and rapid scanning of the scene,
visual cortex
organ, but it sufficiently illustrates the eye’s referred to as saccadic movement, in an effort to gather more
contribution to the human visual system. A information than static observation alone would permit.
similar association is often made by com- In addition, the brain keeps the eye in a constant state of
paring the human brain to an electronic vibration, oscillating it at a frequency of about 50 Hz. These
computer. The speed with which our brain subconscious micro tremors are involuntary, small angular
processes visual input is about the only movements of roughly 20 arc seconds, and they help to con-
realistic comparison we can obtain from stantly refresh the retinal image produced by rods and cones.
this analogy, because the brain is much cerebellum Without these micro tremors, staring at something would cause
more than just a pile of electronic circuitry. the human vision system to cease after a few seconds, because
The eye focuses an upside-down and temporal lobe rods and cones do not record absolute brightness values but
reversed image onto the retina, where rods only respond to changes in luminance. The combined effort
and cones convert the optical sensation of saccadic movement and micro tremors are the reason for
into electrical signals, which travel along the amazing optical resolution of human vision and often the
the optical nerve to several areas of the explanation for otherwise puzzling optical illusions.
brain for subsequent processing. At first, This The next example illustrates how our brain compensates
the visual cortex, which is an area in the is a very simplified overview of the brain’s function as part of for a natural deficiency of the human eye, and the large role the
occipital lobe of the brain at the back of the human visual system. What actually happens in our heads is brain plays in determining what we see. From fig.2a, we know
our head, differentiates between light and far more complex, and much of the brain’s functionality is still a that there is a small area on the retina without visual receptors,
shadow, making out borders and edges and mystery to modern science. All we know for sure is that whatever called the optical disc, and a simple test will reveal its existence.
combining them into simple shapes. With our brain does, it does it very, very quickly. Fig.5 shows a plus sign on the left and a black dot to the right.
support of the cerebral cortex in the pari- Close or cover your left eye, and firmly stare at the plus sign
etal lobe, the new data is compared with The Human Visual System with your right eye. While keeping your left eye closed, slowly
previously memorized information and The human eye is a camera, and the brain is a fast computer. move your head closer to the book. Keep staring at the plus sign,
used to quickly recognize familiar faces and While this grossly oversimplified statement roughly explains the but be aware of the black dot on the right with your peripheral
objects, while separating them from the contribution of both organs to human vision, it cannot illustrate vision. At a distance of about 8 inches or 200 mm, the black
background. But, visual processing does the complexity and sophistication of the human visual system. dot suddenly disappears, at which point, its image falls on the
not stop there, because the information is What we believe to ‘see’ is a combination of the images created blind spot of the retina. It may take you a few trial runs to get
now passed to the temporal lobe, where the by our eyes and the brain’s interpretation of them. In addition, comfortable with this test.
meaning of what we have seen is interpreted, the brain constantly supports the eye to optimize its optical Note that the brain is not willing to accept the lack of visual
and faces and objects are given a name. In performance and get the most visual information possible. Here information caused by the blind spot. It does not disturb our
the frontal lobe, feelings are added, and are two examples: normal vision, because the brain simply takes some visual infor-
finally, in the prefrontal lobe, we order our The eye is able to recognize minute detail far beyond its inher- mation from the surrounding areas and fills in the blank spot
thoughts and decide what to do next, based ent optical resolution of 1 arc minute. We can easily distinguish a with what, in reality, does not exist.
on what we have seen. thin wire against a bright sky down to 1 second of arc, but visual The last two examples demonstrated how the brain makes the
angles alone cannot explain why we can see the dim light of a most of the optical information it receives from the eyes. But,

106 The Polymath Handbook

as we will see in the next example, sometimes the optical fig.4 (left) is a coronal section of a human brain,
information only serves as supporting reference data for the revealing small optic tracts that transport
brain to make a quick judgment. visual information from the eye to the
As you remember from the experiment with the two play- brain, and also containing portions of
ing cards from the previous chapter. Most people claim to the large and convoluted visual cortical
have seen a king of hearts and an ace of spades after a very regions, which translate light into vision.
brief view at the King of hearts and the black Ace of hearts. (image © 2006 by Michael Peres, all
A more thorough observation of fig.8 reveals that the card rights reserved)
on the right is actually a fake, black ace of hearts.
Of course, the official deck of playing cards contains no
black ace of hearts, and consequently, the brain refuses to Data Sheet of the Human Brain
take the optical information given at face value, and prefers tocal #brain cells(neurons):10 Billion neurons
the result of a comparison with its previous experience, in- # of connections(synapses) each up to
stead. The brain’s conclusion is that the optical information, 10,000
received from the eyes, must be wrong for whatever reason, total# of synaptic functions: 100 Trillion
and the card seen is more likely a common ace of spades. estimated average clock speed: 1kHz
Nevertheless, a long enough look at fig.8 will eventually average ambient stimuli: ~11Mb/s
convince the brain that a black ace of hearts does indeed avg. stimuli processing capability: 11-60bit/s
exist, and the test cannot be repeated with the same person, time required for a mental visualization :
because its memory now allows for the existence of a black <100ms
ace of hearts; Human behaviorists believe that our brain is or less than 10 operations
designed to make speedy decisions to protect us. When it estimated total storage: up to 3,6Tb
comes to our safety, we need quick decisions. For example,
the decision whether it is safe to cross a busy road or not
does not rely on time-consuming calculations, considering
the laws of physics. It’s done within a split second, based on
experience. Less so in modern life, but very important to
prehistoric human survival, was the ability to quickly separate
enemy from friend. A familiar friendly face poses less of a
threat than the uncertainty of an encounter with a stranger
or the frightening appearance of a known enemy, who has fig.5 (left)This test is designed to reveal the blind
done us harm in the past. For this reason, a large portion spot of the human eye. Close your left eye,
of our brain is dedicated to face recognition, and it works and stare at the plus sign with your right
extremely well. It works so well, in fact, that logic and reality eye. While keeping your left eye closed,
are often forced to take second place. Faces seem to be hiding slowly move your head closer to the book.
everywhere. We can detect them in bathroom tiles, wallpaper Keep staring at the plus sign, but watch the
patterns and cloud formations. Our brain is constantly on black dot on the right with your peripheral
the look out for facial features. Without this obsession with vision until it suddenly disappears when its
faces, there probably would not be a man in the moon or image falls on the blind spot of the retina.

Eye&Brain 107
108 The Polymath Handbook
 you wouldn’t see a female face in the picture
on the previous page of tree branches. Expe-
rienced photographers and creative artists are
aware, and make use, of the importance and
power of facial expressions. The lead picture, Eating lots of carrots(vitamin A) improves vision,
‘Migrant Mother’ by Dorothea Lange, does not Drinking lots ofbeer or wine doubles it and
reveal the actual circumstances where, when Drinking lots of vodka makes you see things that
and why it was taken, but it summarizes the are not even there.
unfortunate fate of an entire family during
the Great Depression through the emotions
written on one face.

fig.6 (above) Except for

humans, who are diurnal,
most mammals, esspecially
carnivors, have a highly reflective
sk in(called tapetum lucidum) immediately
behind the retina, which acts as a retroreflector,reflecting
light back through the retina and thereby increasing the light
available to the photoreceptors. This contributes to superior night
vision in nocturnal animals. For example, In a cat, the tapetum
lucidum increases the sensitivity of vision by 44%, allowing
the cat to see light that is imperceptible to human eyes.
Eye&Brain 109
110 The Polymath Handbook