I do believe I am starting to understand 'purple'.

[JBW]

[Manfred M]

I would suggest that your title would be correct once you can explain this to other people.

The "acid test" of understanding, in my experience, is being able to clearly articulate this and to answer others questions about it. Care to give it a try?

[JBW]

I would suggest that your title would be correct once you can explain this to other people.

The "acid test" of understanding, in my experience, is being able to clearly articulate this and to answer others questions about it. Care to give it a try?

Why not?

Every tool in the known universe has limitations. A digital camera is a tool. One limitation it has is the colour purple. Because of the way the sensor in a digital camera is configured even the best of them don't do purple very well. This is a fact that every photographer is stuck with.

Which means that I need to understand that what my eye sees is not what my camera sees. Which means that for me to get the shot I saw I need to do some interesting post processing to recreate the colours I saw.

For this shot I needed to lighten the purple just a gnat as well as desaturate it a touch. This allowed for more detail and texture to be seen.

Then because it showed more detail and texture but was starting to look muddy / drab I had to play with the black and white points in the blue range as well as within the whole value of the entire shot. This was trial and error but eventually it looked better, not great but better.

The purple was still needing some tender loving care.

I used a NL filter (Gimp) set to .75 on the purple and another one set to .65 on the yellow. As well I put in a wisp of Gaussian Blur in the background. This plus a frame that (to my eyes at least) enhances the colours in the shot brought the purple back to what I had seen.

And that is my understanding of the colour purple, why it needs a lot of tlc, and, at least for this shot, how to apply The tlc.

How did I do?

[Stagecoach]

Brian,

I am absolutely rubbish at colours but is that purple

On a more serious note whatever the colour very good.

[Manfred M]

Good start Brian, but I'm not aware of any camera that records purple. Sensors record red, green and blue. Purple is red + blue.

That being said, your flower looks good!

[JBW]

Good start Brian, but I'm not aware of any camera that records purple. Sensors record red, green and blue. Purple is red + blue.

That being said, your flower looks good!

okay I should have said digital cameras have trouble re-creating purple? But it do look good.

[JBW]

Brian,

I am absolutely rubbish at colours but is that purple

On a more serious note whatever the colour very good.

I am getting better at whatever this colour actually is. Purple does come in multiple shades. A long time ago I moved to Ivory Island Light Station and the house we moved into had a bathroom painted a purple i had only seen once before on a hot rod. I believe it was called 'exotic purple'.

[Stagecoach]

I am getting better at whatever this colour actually is. Purple does come in multiple shades. A long time ago I moved to Ivory Island Light Station and the house we moved into had a bathroom painted a purple i had only seen once before on a hot rod. I believe it was called 'exotic purple'.

I asked my other half what colour she would call it, first reaction 'Purple' then some fifteen minutes later and lots of comparisons along comes a shade of 'Indigo'.

Fifteen minutes discussing the colour of someone else's flower picture and all I get normally for my masterpieces is a 2 second yes or no

[JBW]

I asked my other half what colour she would call it, first reaction 'Purple' then some fifteen minutes later and lots of comparisons along comes a shade of 'Indigo'.

Fifteen minutes discussing the colour of someone else's flower picture and all I get normally for my masterpieces is a 2 second yes or no

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured, now to tackle that pesky red.

[JBW]

Nicely captured, now to tackle that pesky red.

I could try that next. though i just posted a bold and beautiful that has some nice red in it.

[Rob Ekins]

Good start Brian, but I'm not aware of any camera that records purple. Sensors record red, green and blue.

And so does the human eye. It is not the digital camera or the human eye that lets us perceive "Purple" It is our brains tricking us into seeing a colour that can not be created using RGB mixing.

Here is a short video on colour mixing and how we perceive different colours.. fascinating stuff every photographer should know.

[JBW]

And so does the human eye. It is not the digital camera or the human eye that lets us perceive "Purple" It is our brains tricking us into seeing a colour that can not be created using RGB mixing.

Here is a short video on colour mixing and how we perceive different colours.. fascinating stuff every photographer should know.

that video is very interesting