I have old eyes, with well established cataracts in both eyes. I have elected for surgery, replacing the old natural lenses with new manufactured ones. My first surgery was yesterday.
The first thing I noticed today, after the eye slowly became undilated, was the color changes. I have been told by those who have had the surgery about the brightness of the colors afterwards. The first thing I have noticed is not so much a color brightening, but a loss of yellow cast to everything. Whites are more truly white, colors that were warm are appearing colder.
From a photographer's point of view, this opens up another area of uncertainty. If colors become cooler after cataract surgery, how one's photos appear to other "old" eyes (or young eyes) is an unknowable.
I do calibrate my monitor, so at least in that sense I am not worried about the correctness of color. But I do worry in terms of saturation, hue and brightness in editing, which I have given a great deal of credence to how a picture looks as I have seen it when taking it, especially as I process almost exclusively in RAW. And now, I find I may have been seeing it warmer than it actually is.
I would love to hear the thoughts of others on this, whether they have experienced it, and if they have given thought to possible correction.
Yes, Phil, I have been through this experience. Not only did color change, but the way I see changed. Literally! My brain had to make an adjustment for how different things looked in perspective, distortion, etc. Going from large factor nearsighted to euphakic is really a trip! I took more falls than I can count, lucky none of them bone-breaking or camera shattering, but it was a difficult time. As to adjusting for color balance in your processing with cataracts and then without, I dunno. There's no way to calibrate how much yellow the cataract is causing. I think you just work with what you have and get lots of feedback. Then adjust color as needed. But as Lon Overacker and I have talked about, everyone sees color a little differently. I guess that makes me think about staying within the box on my adjustments or if I'm doing something artsy, go definitely out of the box. Hope that makes some sense. I encourage you to go carefully while you and your brain get used to your new vision.
I agree with Catherine in that you'll just have to work with what you have and get feedback from others,and then adjust accordingly. It's true that we all see color and tone a little differently: It's just the nature of the beast, and one we can't really account for.
Thanks, Preston. I read through the entire posting. I guess I have to agree with you and Catherine. I will revisit this as things change more permanently, and as I get the other eye done.
Discussion
4 repliesThe first thing I noticed today, after the eye slowly became undilated, was the color changes. I have been told by those who have had the surgery about the brightness of the colors afterwards. The first thing I have noticed is not so much a color brightening, but a loss of yellow cast to everything. Whites are more truly white, colors that were warm are appearing colder.
From a photographer's point of view, this opens up another area of uncertainty. If colors become cooler after cataract surgery, how one's photos appear to other "old" eyes (or young eyes) is an unknowable.
I do calibrate my monitor, so at least in that sense I am not worried about the correctness of color. But I do worry in terms of saturation, hue and brightness in editing, which I have given a great deal of credence to how a picture looks as I have seen it when taking it, especially as I process almost exclusively in RAW. And now, I find I may have been seeing it warmer than it actually is.
I would love to hear the thoughts of others on this, whether they have experienced it, and if they have given thought to possible correction.
There is a related discussion about this in the NPN Member Lounge.
I agree with Catherine in that you'll just have to work with what you have and get feedback from others,and then adjust accordingly. It's true that we all see color and tone a little differently: It's just the nature of the beast, and one we can't really account for.
--P