Visualizing High Dynamic Range Images (original) (raw)

Traditionally, images are represented on a computer as an ar r y of pixels, where each pixel is assigned red, green, and blue col or intensities. Each color channel is an 8 bit integer, meaning it can take on integer values ranging from 0 to 255. This numeric represe ntation corresponds to the display devices we have available. A value of 0 means ”the darkest that the display device can display”, which might mean making an lcd element as black as possible, or it mi ght mean placing pure black ink at that spot on the paper. The high end, 255, means ”as bright as possible”, perhaps by leaving t he lcd element as open as it goes, or by not placing any ink down on the paper, leaving the paper’s natural whiteness.