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Explain this one!

Posted by
CElliottUK (Reading, United Kingdom) on 3 January 2011 in Plant & Nature.

These are two shots of catkins-same tree, same time, same light. One was taken 90 degrees from the other.
No extra processing, no colour manipulation.
I have many pictures taken at the same time-they all show the phenomena. Can anyone explain why one is reddish and the other purpleish??

kitty from Seoul, South Korea

Sorry - can't help but would love to know. Happy New Year!

3 Jan 2011 8:13am

PRASHANT from Mumbai, India

Interesting phenomena....I think due to Back light Or due to Auto White Balance.

3 Jan 2011 8:39am

Phil Morris from Saskatoon, Toronto, Canada

Wonderful anomaly for a great photo pair, gender pods, all can be taken into account.

3 Jan 2011 8:48am

mayoline from Hoorn, Netherlands

Sorry, I can't explain, but I find them both beautiful.

3 Jan 2011 9:03am

Nigel from Avening, United Kingdom

A couple of great images

3 Jan 2011 9:19am

Tede from Aubenas 07, France

Light can change the colors I think, splendid closeup. Good day and thank you for the watch.

3 Jan 2011 9:27am

Marleen from Doesburg, Netherlands

I guess this could be a light issue- how the sensor picks it up or something with the white balance...??
(but I'm really no expert!) Before reading the txt I thought you cleaned only one half of the window:-))

3 Jan 2011 9:34am

CATCHLIGHT from Reading, United Kingdom

I think it's the auto white balance. I've had this on my (Nikon) a few times where for some reason, ie the background, it gets confused..You probably have yours set on daylight?

3 Jan 2011 9:41am

CATCHLIGHT from Reading, United Kingdom

Is that a UFO on your sensor as well?

3 Jan 2011 9:43am

@CATCHLIGHT: Time to get the brillo pad and vim out!

Sam from Chennai, India

Both are good images ... Perhaps you have the answer ... :)

3 Jan 2011 9:45am

@Sam: Truly, I don't!! I would love to have peoples thoughts

marci from in, Morocco

I concur on the auto balance hypothesis... the backgrounds look very different, so the camera is handling the whole scene differently... ? which looks more like your eye perceived it? the first?

3 Jan 2011 10:40am

@marci: This isn't going to help much...They were red/brown, with a purple/brown sheen!

Anne J. from Figtree, Australia

No I can't explain it but I love the colour of the first...which is more true?

3 Jan 2011 10:47am

The Mouse from Glasgow, United Kingdom

No, not that much of a geek.

3 Jan 2011 10:50am

grouser from Ludlow, United Kingdom

It's all to do with the angle
of dangle :)

3 Jan 2011 10:56am

daniela scharnowski from Berlin, Germany

yeah, i think it´s the angle of light you get and your sensor catches it differently. that´s why it is so important to check other angles ;D

3 Jan 2011 11:03am

sim from k, Iran

somehow the camera got some more blue in the second one maybe from the molecules in the air nothing is strange with these digital cameras they have an operator inside who does many thing without permission

3 Jan 2011 11:11am

Sonia Nansid from Barcelona Stockholm, Sweden

Well, Im definitely not an expert but I guess that for anyone to be able to help you you should give more info. Camera, settings, lens. The first thought is also the white balance, do you have it in automatic? Anything in automatic will change if you change angle because of the light. (My todays pic is in Stockholm indeed).

3 Jan 2011 11:13am

@Sonia Nansid: The basic settings are at the top right. On top of that the camera was set to daylight, it was shot yesterday at around 1pm on a day that had thin white clouds covering the sky. What else can I tell you?

Monique from Koh Samui, Thailand

I agree with Sonia, we need much more information. My guess is also the white balance setting and the change of light fall because you took the second one from another angle. I like the warm color tones in number 1 the most.

3 Jan 2011 11:48am

Sunder from Chennai, India

I know...I know....
With the amazing specifications that your camera has.....it has become a "thinking-camera" (like "thinking-computers")...and it has a mind of its own!!!
And it has decided to render the two images, depending on its mood at that point of time......:):)

ON a serious note:
I think the answer lies somehwere in the fact that cobwebs visible in the lower shot are not seen in the top shot. Since you say they were taken at the same time , I am sure there was no time for webs to form.
The lighting conditions/camera settings / sensor settings- which make the webs visible in one and invisible in other - has caused this difference...
At the risk of displaying a lot of ignorance, somehow "gamma correction" (not done by you, but your clever camera) may cause this ..??
PS: My to-do list includes reading up on "gamma correction in exposure", which I havent done yet...but I just thought I would show off...using some high sounding words ( to me at least)

3 Jan 2011 12:22pm

Sally from Glasgow, United Kingdom

So that'll be your five testicles then!

3 Jan 2011 12:22pm

k@ from Paris, France

Now you know, there is a lil' magic giggling elf inside your camera, don't look further & say thanks to the mysteries of life ;)) Love the color of the first one.

3 Jan 2011 12:36pm

Stephen from Canberra, Australia

At a guess, I'd say it was white balance. You could test this by using a white balance card prior to taking a shot from each angle. It should then result in near identical colour. But you did have some control - very crisp focus you get here!

3 Jan 2011 12:38pm

MARIANA from Waterloo, Canada

Who knows ? :)))

3 Jan 2011 1:13pm

Sonia Nansid from Barcelona Stockholm, Sweden

Your Exif data doesn't show...if that is what you mean with "The basic settings are at the top right".

3 Jan 2011 1:37pm

@Sonia Nansid: Sonia, I am so sorry, because it's a composite of two shots, you are quite correct, the EXIF data doesn't show. The correct data is 1/250th second, f5.6,ISO 1600,Daylight lighting, 1.2 Metre distance to camera, lens set at 197 mm. I hope this helps

Adela Fonts from Barcelona, Spain

The issue of lights and automatic machines is often moody photograph. Happened to me many times changing the view of the picture element and the whole atmosphere is totally different. The two or three or more photographs taken at the same time, same time and place. The only difference is a hange in POV! A hug, Adela

3 Jan 2011 1:48pm

Larry Elkins from Bisbee, United States

I WOULD GUESS THE SUN HIT THE FIRST WITH A MORE DIRECT AND WARMER LIGHT.

3 Jan 2011 1:48pm

Didier from Tubize, Belgium

Hi Chris, electronic captors are sensible to cold and can sometime produce abnormal and uncontrollable results... I'm also sure that changing angle (90°) does not provide the same light as source is different. On the 2nd one, light comes from right while on the 1st one it comes from your back and that's affecting color.
My father always said me to shoot with sun in by back in order to get the most colorful images (he was worker on prisms and lenses); at 8 years old, I was unable to understand why and just believed him, now I still not fully understand but I apply this simple rule quite often (when sun shines).
Happy new year playing with colors ! :)

3 Jan 2011 2:59pm

Tillymea from Stockholm, Sweden

Different and exacting, great focus and color.))))

3 Jan 2011 3:17pm

don from spokane, United States

Very pretty results, but I don't know how or why.

3 Jan 2011 3:39pm

john4jack from Corvallis, Oregon, United States

not a clue. what i notice most is the strands of web in the bottom one. photographically, I think that the top one is the best one

3 Jan 2011 4:22pm

grouser from Ludlow, United Kingdom

Further to my first flippant comment, I was out oiling a carving today and it reminded me that I get huge colour variations when photographing my green oak carvings. A small change in angle or light can make a huge difference. The natural perceived colour is a warm golden brown and it can reproduce correctly, with more yellow or red, or quite often with a strong purple hue which requires considerable correction to get it to match what my eye sees. I put it down to a particular hue that the sensor has trouble with under certain light conditions, but can offer no explanation as to why. It can be bloody irritating though :)

3 Jan 2011 4:22pm

myky from London, Canada

I really like the top one too! Nice sharp focus and the blurred ghostly images enhance the image. What a great plant to photograph, in spite of the abberation!!

3 Jan 2011 4:43pm

ursulakatariina from Greenock, United Kingdom

I don't know the answer, but what Didier says sounds right... I have noticed this same phenomena sometimes too.
Beautiful colors in both pictures!

3 Jan 2011 6:38pm

Philip from Reading, United Kingdom

yeah, you're camera's pissed.

3 Jan 2011 6:48pm

¨‘°ºO Dutçh Oº°‘¨ from Neverwhere, United States

The angle of light. If you use a circular polarizer you can tune out the reflections or harsher light to an extent however what has more light will always have more light. The color might be more accurate though.

3 Jan 2011 7:17pm

Olivier from Manage, Belgium

Excellent colors!

3 Jan 2011 7:19pm

Yvon from Orleans, France

great composition

3 Jan 2011 7:21pm

Gilles from Entre Bussy et Bruxelles, France

very nice compo on the bottom one

Have a happy new year

3 Jan 2011 7:29pm

M@ndy from London, United Kingdom

I've no idea, I actually thought it was too different seasons (as for the photo jacket, believe me I have been tempted)

3 Jan 2011 7:30pm

Philip from South Wales, United Kingdom

Hay! Nice shot anyway. The second shot is great.

3 Jan 2011 8:04pm

Sally from Glasgow, United Kingdom

Does it really matter? It's 2 moments in time, captured by your camera. Use them as memories and enjoy both. End of.

3 Jan 2011 8:12pm

Sally from Glasgow, United Kingdom

Oh, and by the way - see you next week xx

3 Jan 2011 8:12pm

David from Avranches, France

Both nice shots, I have no answers for you though.

3 Jan 2011 9:14pm

Bettina from Los Angeles, United States

Not me. Sorry. But they're great shots.

3 Jan 2011 9:33pm

Earnest from Oklahoma, United States

Were I to take a wild guess I would say that your auto white balance keyed on the lighter area in the first photo which is not present in the second... you might see similar results with autoprocessing of the colors.

3 Jan 2011 11:21pm

flyingwind风飞扬 from Bridgetown, Barbados

Excellent details, even the silk!!

4 Jan 2011 2:33am

Ronnie 2¢ from Atlantic Shores, United Kingdom

Well, I've taken a collection of shots of these things in the last week and they all presented themselves boringly brown. I need to upgrade.

4 Jan 2011 10:51am

Curly from South Shields, United Kingdom

Does the clue not lie in the 90 degrees Chris?
The change in your direction of approach coincides with the angle that reflects more light towards the camera, this invariably will give a different reading on the CCD sensor. It also means that you were looking at two completely different backgrounds.

4 Jan 2011 11:17am

Julie Brown from Indianapolis, United States

Curly's explanation is what I was thinking. Color is all about light.

7 Jan 2011 1:27am