About seven years ago Saskia gave me the gift of a very nice camera. She had ask me what kind I wanted and I said a mid-range one. I wanted more than a point and click, but because of the price, I did not want a professional model. I thought I would use it but was not sure. So she gave me a Canon Rebel Tli which I think I have shot around 35,000 pictures with by now. It came with an 18 – 55 mm lens but the lens could be changed. I have more lens now and I also bought another camera about a year and a half ago, a Canon 6D Mark ll. I love both cameras and still use the Rebel a lot. But this is not about equipment, it is about processing pictures, color and my ability to see it. And, photography has moved me from just looking, to really seeing.

This story starts many years ago when I was in junior high school, which is known as a middle school today. I was in science class and I had an awakening, an understanding that was so profound to me that I remember it as if it were yesterday. We were in a chapter of the science book about color. In the chapter, there was a section that showed a number of the Ishihara Test on Color Blindness. It was explaining how one was tested for color blindness. These tests are done by using big circles filled with many small dots of different colors. Depending on the ones that are used, there are color numbers within the large circle that will help determine if you are color normal, color blind or have some variation of color blindness. As we went through the pictures there were many where I could see no number. The end result was the understanding that I have red-green color blindness. What I have is called Protan Color Blindness. If you are interested in checking yourself, follow the link below.

WHAT IS PROTAN COLOR BLINDNESS?

Protans are people with protanomaly, a type of red-green color blindness in which the red cones do not detect enough red and are too sensitive to greens, yellows, and oranges.

As a result, greens, yellows, oranges, reds, and browns may appear similar, especially in low light. It can also be difficult to tell the difference between blues and purples, or pinks and grays. Red and black might be hard to tell apart, especially when red text is against a black background.

https://enchroma.com/pages/protan

Enchroma

Discovering this was really strange. First, it explained a lot about many of my color choices over the years, and secondly, I realized that I saw the world very differently than most people. As one might imagine, this has led to many amusing stories over the years, quite a few a bit embarrassing. I have had to learn to deal with this abnormality while facing daily tasks. Intersections with the traffic lights are at times a challenge. Also it is difficult to know how to respond when, upon finding out I am color blind, someone will ask me what color grass is? I never know quite what they mean. If you grow up in Kentucky and see the grass in the right light it may be blue. If it is in the middle of winter it may be brown, and of course, viewed in the summer it may be green. Most of this information has come through the acquisition of knowledge over the years and not so much direct observation.

I know this condition creates frustration for my wife. If we are going out somewhere she may ask which shirt I am going to wear. I generally reply that I will wear the one on the top of the stack. I know this is not the answer she is looking for, but it illustrates the primary challenge color blindness has for me.  That is, I have this color blind condition and, color is really not that important to me. When I view something, color is not what I notice first nor necessarily notice as most important. The reason I say this is because I know that what I see in the realm of color is not valid based on what most people see. My eyes lie to me.

So one might wonder how color plays out in my world view especially as far as photography is concerned? The easiest way to describe this is to say that when I look at the world it is basically flat. I don’t mean in a three dimensional way but in a way that incorporates color, hue, saturation and tone. These items have very little independent value to me. While I see colors, I distinguish them mostly as lighter or darker than the others around them. Most important to me is contrast, shape, lines, blending, context and light/shadows. When I work with a picture I am not trying to create an accurate representation of what I see. I know if I attempt to reproduce what I see, it will be at best, dull or boring. I really work more for a feeling or a perception of the scene. I guess I work for a mood or feeling within myself. When I reach the point of feeling relaxed and I find myself smiling, I know I am finished.

There are times I will work a picture to the point where I am feeling it and I will ask Saskia what she thinks. She, being of excellent normal color ability might tell me the colors are off to the point it looks unnatural or unrealistic. If it is something that makes sense to me, like a persons skin tone, I will make some adjustments and finish processing. However, if it is something like a mountain range that I feel strongly about the way I have rendered the scene, I will not change it. But since I do trust her view, I will not publish it either. 

A lot of my work tends to be dark, not moody dark but visually background dark. I enjoy taking a shot and working with contrast to make a part or item stand out. This is especially true with the macro shots I do. I like being able to highlight and bring out a section of a plant or a flower by contrasting it to the darker background. The infinite beauty of small flowers and insects leaves me speechless and in wonder. 

When I work with landscapes or shots like that I do not go to the dark background as much. But, I am often uncertain about the shot. Again I go for a feeling within myself but the wide range of colors in the scene will often leave me with a feeling of uncertainty. I will usually go ahead and finish it unless I am really uncertain and then I will ask Saskia to critique it.

My family has ask me if I would like a pair of the glasses that enable someone who is color blind to see colors. While I really appreciate their intention, I do not want to change the way I see the world. I think my challenge makes me work a little harder and pushes me to understand a little more clearly the world, the way I see it.

So, if you see a picture I take and the color seem odd or the emphasis of the shot seems strange, there is a reason why this is so.  I just see stuff differently.