What Color is this Dress *Explanation*

[Scepticalscribe]

While the discussion does seem to draw a distinction between what the eye can see (or thinks it can see) in daylight and in periods of reduced light, I wonder whether there is a distinction between what the eye sees with natural lighting and what is seen by the human eye with artificial lighting.

 

[Apple fanboy]

While the discussion does seem to draw a distinction between what the eye can see (or thinks it can see) in daylight and in periods of reduced light, I wonder whether there is a distinction between what the eye sees with natural lighting and what is seen by the human eye with artificial lighting.

Don't forget that your screen might not be showing acurate colours. That's why pro's calibrate. I do mine every 4-6 weeks.
And yes lighting makes a big difference. We have D65 lights in the bathroom which looks very different to the lighting elsewhere in the house.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Don't forget that your screen might not be showing acurate colours. That's why pro's calibrate. I do mine every 4-6 weeks.
And yes lighting makes a big difference. We have D65 lights in the bathroom which looks very different to the lighting elsewhere in the house.

That is entirely possible re calibration of the computer screen.

However, I have noticed for myself that I have extraordinary difficulty in distinguishing between 'midnight navy' (a colour I love and wear quite a bit), and black (another colour I both love and wear quite a lot) in artificial light. In daylight, or natural light, no such difficulty is evident (apart from the light deprived days of late November to mid February when everything looks bleak and dismal.)

While this could be an age related matter, I have noticed it is something which has given me some difficulty for the best part of twenty years, so I'm not sure that he fault lies with ageing eyes.

 

[Apple fanboy]

That is entirely possible re calibration of the computer screen.

However, I have noticed for myself that I have extraordinary difficulty in distinguishing between 'midnight navy' (a colour I love and wear quite a bit), and black (another colour I both love and wear quite a lot) in artificial light. In daylight, or natural light, no such difficulty is evident (apart from the light deprived days of late November to mid February when everything looks bleak and dismal.)

While this could be an age related matter, I have noticed it is something which has given me some difficulty for the best part of twenty years, so I'm not sure that he fault lies with ageing eyes.

You need some GATF light indicators! http://www.colormall.com/moab/PIA-GATF-RHEM-Light-Indicator-34p153.htm
Or calibrate your screen and do this test http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge

 

[Scepticalscribe]

You need some GATF light indicators! http://www.colormall.com/moab/PIA-GATF-RHEM-Light-Indicator-34p153.htm
Or calibrate your screen and do this test http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge

Calibrate my eyes, perhaps?

In sunny climes, every aspect of my eyesight seems to improve; sharpness, clarity, colour, the sheer possibilities of seeing things clearly…...

However, then, whenever I return to the overcast, bleak, charcoal skies of the British Isles, I am convinced that my eyesight has deteriorated dramatically.

Once, standing outside the airport, having just arrived back from a Sunny Somewhere Else, I recall being surprised (when I checked) that my glasses were still on my nose, as my pervasive sense of light deprivation, and lack of visual clarity made it seem that the abrupt deterioration in my vision could only have been cause by my inadvertently having removed my spectacles.

And what is a 'GATF' indicator?

 

[jkcerda]

Here ya go!

YouTube: video

dress did not change color at all for me.
white with gold bands

OTHERS will see it differently

 

[Apple fanboy]

Calibrate my eyes, perhaps?

In sunny climes, every aspect of my eyesight seems to improve; sharpness, clarity, colour, the sheer possibilities of seeing things clearly…...

However, then, whenever I return to the overcast, bleak, charcoal skies of the British Isles, I am convinced that my eyesight has deteriorated dramatically.

Once, standing outside the airport, having just arrived back from a Sunny Somewhere Else, I recall being surprised (when I checked) that my glasses were still on my nose, as my pervasive sense of light deprivation, and lack of visual clarity made it seem that the abrupt deterioration in my vision could only have been cause by my inadvertently having removed my spectacles.

And what is a 'GATF' indicator?

A colour strip that will show dark stripes if the lighting is not daylight. Also known as a RHEM Strip.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

You need some GATF light indicators! http://www.colormall.com/moab/PIA-GATF-RHEM-Light-Indicator-34p153.htm
Or calibrate your screen and do this test http://www.xrite.com/online-color-test-challenge

Thank you for that test; fascinating.

Actually, it sort of confirmed what I have already long suspected, which is that my eyesight - while deficient in distance focusing - is rather good in distinguishing precisely between different distinctions or hues, or shades of colour.

 

[mobilehaathi]

dress did not change color at all for me.
white with gold bands

OTHERS will see it differently
Image

FFS, what is this PRSI?

 

[richwoodrocket]

It changed colors for me. First time I saw it this morning it was white and yellow. This afternoon it was black and blue....

 

[Scepticalscribe]

FFS, what is this PRSI?

I decided to pass, with averted eyes, and appropriately silent mien, over that particular post……given possible contexts, not all of them related to the workings of (optical) rods, cones, and colour blindness….

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It changed colors for me. First time I saw it this morning it was white and yellow. This afternoon it was black and blue....

And would the limited - or deprived - or less than optimal - state of natural light available first thing this morning have had anything to do with that particular set of colours being more visible as primary colours in the dawning light of day, do you think?

Whereas, in the afternoon, in the full bloom of day's glowing natural light, it may have been that things (i.e. colours) appeared a little differently?

 

[richwoodrocket]

What Color is this Dress *Explanation*

I decided to pass, with averted eyes, and appropriately silent mien, over that particular post……given possible contexts, not all of them related to the workings of (optical) rods, cones, and colour blindness….

----------





And would the limited - or deprived - or less than optimal - state of natural light available first thing this morning have had anything to do with that particular set of colours being more visible as primary colours in the dawning light of day, do you think?



Whereas, in the afternoon, in the full bloom of day's glowing natural light, it may have been that things (i.e. colours) appeared a little differently?

In the morning it was around 8:15 when I looked at it... I guess you bring up a good point that it was probably darker in the room.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

In the morning it was around 8:15 when I looked at it... I guess you bring up a good point that it was probably darker in the room.

Dark at this time of year, that early in the day, yes. Naturally, that will change as the days lengthen.

In summer, in the northern hemisphere, that wouldn't be an issue at 8.15, but in late winter, yes, I'd argue that the light is still sufficiently limited to have an influence on how we perceive colour.

 

[AleXXXa]

It's clearly white and gold. You guys are trolling or need to have your eyes checked.
I even opened Photoshop to double check.

Sent from my black and blue iPhone

 

[LadyX]

What Color is this Dress *Explanation*

It's clearly white and gold. You guys are trolling or need to have your eyes checked.

I even opened Photoshop to double check.

Sent from my black and blue iPhone

No one is trolling here. I honestly see the dress navy blue and black. Others like you see gold and white. I've tried in different lighting and phones, to get the gold and white color some people are seeing but all I see is blue and black.

 

[Xiroteus]

No matter what I have zero idea how anyone ever saw white in there.

 

[LadyX]

What Color is this Dress *Explanation*

No matter what I have zero idea how anyone ever saw white in there.

I know! My sis is like the whole dress is white with some gold!

 

[SactoGuy18]

I have to ask this question: do older people see it as white and gold, while younger people see it as blue and black?

Here's why I say this: most older people saw many still color images taken by Kodak's Kodacolor print and Kodachrome slide films. As such, because of the "warmer" color gamut of these two camera films, it may fool people into thinking the dress was white and gold color. Younger people see mostly images taken with digital cameras with a less "warm" color gamut, and they may think the color is blue and black.

 

[Xiroteus]

I know! My sis is like the whole dress is white with some gold!

At best a very light blue. It was too uniformed to be just shadows. No matter what image there is never white.

 

[nebo1ss]

I have to ask this question: do older people see it as white and gold, while younger people see it as blue and black?

Here's why I say this: most older people saw many still color images taken by Kodak's Kodacolor print and Kodachrome slide films. As such, because of the "warmer" color gamut of these two camera films, it may fool people into thinking the dress was white and gold color. Younger people see mostly images taken with digital cameras with a less "warm" color gamut, and they may think the color is blue and black.

You are old people at 20 to a 12 year old.

I drove pass a PUB in North London this morning and there was a board outside where they would normally advertise the football matches etc. It just said its clearly blue and Black.

 

[CrickettGrrrl]

I have to ask this question: do older people see it as white and gold, while younger people see it as blue and black?

Here's why I say this: most older people saw many still color images taken by Kodak's Kodacolor print and Kodachrome slide films. As such, because of the "warmer" color gamut of these two camera films, it may fool people into thinking the dress was white and gold color. Younger people see mostly images taken with digital cameras with a less "warm" color gamut, and they may think the color is blue and black.

No, I really don't think it's an age thing. I asked my mother to look at the image and like me, she sees only a washed-out blue & black. She's also had cataract surgery, so I don't know if that makes any difference.

As hard as I try, I can NOT see white & gold. I see a really crappy, noisy, lossy, washed-out image of a blue & black dress which is meant to be more saturated blue & black. There are other colors in the background such as the orangey-red and the tan wood which clue one to the fact that they are meant to be more saturated as well. Plus plenty of experience shopping for clothing in stores with poor lighting & the subsequent horror of seeing the purchased item in normal lighting later.

However, one of the biggest epiphanies in learning to paint is the realization that you get more mileage by "suggesting" detail, textures, & even color, --and letting the viewer's brain fill in a lot of the rest themselves. Paintings like that can seem more real than very tight, overly detailed images. So I think that this quite bad photo of a dress isn't providing enough visual cues for some people to process it accurately. ---Or on the threshold of bad enough to suggest conflicting alternates.

It's interesting that we all mostly assume that everyone can see exactly what we see too. But this is not true. A lot of different brain wiring going on. Even after dealing with a lot of clients over the past 2 decades, some of whom simply cannot interpolate 2D elevational drawings, perspective renderings, color & texture samples and even small 3D mock-ups until they see the completed project, it can be a shock to realize just how differently everyone interprets the world.

 

[zin]

I see black and blue even with the altered brightness and contrast images.

 

[MacNut]

I still don't understand how people were seeing white and gold. It doesn't make any sense.

 

[Huntn]

I voted Gold and white, but based on the lighting, the white actually has a bluish tint.

Wired has a good article about it

View attachment 531940

This looks like a function of lighting/exposure/photoshopping although you've got to get really dark for the white to look black.

 

[Renzatic]

Okay, I just did two things.

First I did the color test thing to make sure my eyeballs are working correctlys. Turns out I have perfect color vision.

Proof!

Then I saved the picture, and ran it through the Selective Color adjuster in Photoshop. The gold that's supposedly black? It's gold. It responds to changes made under red and yellow selections, not neutrals and blacks.

The white section does have a blue tinge, so it responds to changes made under blue. It's still mostly white, though.

So I'm calling BS for computer verified reasons.