Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

A lot of images I see on social media, including some on UHH, seem over processed to me, especially over saturation of blue, too bright and over sharpened. I started doing a little research on why, wondering if I was over processing. Some may think it's what their mind's eye saw, but if you are older, like a lot of us on UHH, there could be physical reason. If you have the start of cataracts, like I do, they tend to shift color towards yellow, reduce brightness and contrast and reduce the detail you can see. The way to fix it on your monitor is to over saturate blue, over brighten and over sharpen.

I make sure I take a picture of a gray card during a shoot and I've started asking family members with younger eyes to look at my images before I post or print. Of course the eventual solution will be cataract surgery, but I'm going to put it off until my Optometrist says I need to.

My reference is "See It: Photographic Composition Using Visual Intensity" by John and Ellen Anon, the Aging and Vision section of Chapter II. They also talk about the effects of macular degeneration, glaucoma, loss of peripheral vision, and loss of blue cones with age and ways to overcome those issues.

Getting old sucks!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I think there's a 'newness' to processing that is involved too, maybe more than the post-retirement eyes / age of the general UHH population. I was doing HDR a lot when I first found this software in digital processing. I used to use Canon's Landscape for all my images for the upped saturation and sharpening of this picture style profile. Nikon's Vivid is even more saturated. Finally, just pressing <Process> on the various AI tools that have become rather popular on UHH will give you a heavy-hand in sharpening.

Then, using the tools above with an uncalibrated monitor will likely lead to overdoing things. Nowadays, I cringe at many of my older images, sometimes being forced to redo them immediately, or maybe just adding the images to a 'redo' collection in LR for reconsideration later.

One way a person might look into this idea further is to consider where their sliders are positioned typically? There's nothing 'wrong' with a person's style per se, but if you're saturation slider is north of +30 in a RAW, you might be a little over-saturated where other techniques could work better. If you're sharpening your JPEGs, you're likely oversharpening an image what was sharpened by the camera.

b top gun

I had cataract procedures on both eyes this April past; immediately I noticed some things, the sky really is BLUE, not aquamarine. And bright is REALLY BRIGHT to the point for me now that I wear polaroid sunglasses even indoors while at work because some of the new lighting is also crazy bright! I refer to my procedures as a personal reset of my internal white balance and saturation and in some instances levels of exposure. I have been told that my brain has to recalibrate everything now and I believe that for sure. In retrospect, who knows how long my cataracts had been influencing my shots and some of the post processing I had done before. One other point, the local custom photo lab that does my printing, they have a new color printer and as needed I will order an 8" x 12" or 16" x 9" proof just to check color fidelity before going large as in 20" x 30"

Everyone is unique. Others I talked to before told me the procedures were a "piece of cake"...NOT for me. As a result it will take longer for my vision to reset to whatever that will be months down the road. Driving after sunset is a challenge for now.

Xmsmn Loc: Minnesota

Cataract surgery was no godsend of vision enhancement, and the mega-floaters I ended up with make me delay most shots by a perceptible split second until I can decide if the camera is in focus through that moving cloud. My polarized lenses allow me to see the most beautiful blue sky however, and my past tendency to oversaturate in-camera makes me also cringe when I look at some of the images now.

niteman3d Loc: South Central Pennsylvania, USA

Agreed on the "no Godsend" regarding cataract removal, although it is getting better for me with time assuming I don't lose a cornea or retina. To the OP I would caution don't wait too long like I did and have the cataract harden as it gets older causing much more trauma upon removal and increased likelihood of complications. I was blind in the treated eye for several weeks after surgery and have been slowly improving since February. I finally get my final checkup and eyeglass prescription in a couple of weeks, assuming the corneal edema has subsided. Add blepharitis to the mix and you've got a hot mess. The floaters do start to hide from your brain over time. They're still there, you just won't notice them as much. I learned that after retina surgery on the same eye about eight years ago. The beauty of digital photography... shoot a lot, keep a few and if they're still off, claim artistic license. 😜👀

Iron Sight Loc: Utah

And for me Cataract surgery was dramatically positive. I had my other eye done as soon as possible.

chikid68 Loc: Tennesse USA

I'm going to have to have cataract surgery in the near future but I have recognized the issues my diminished eyesight has caused my perception of color and such so I have to trust my software and I still get a second opinion before calling the editing done.

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

For me, cataract surgery was a VERY Positive thing for vision and some color perception.
However, To establish a baseline, I also recommend taking at least one of the following tests.
https://www.colorlitelens.com/ishihara-test
https://www.color-blindness.com/color-blindness-tests/
Best Wishes,
JimmyT Sends


Your "Color Challenged" Friend
Edit: I also have a great "Color Checker" (my wife)
for anything which may be printed or seen by others.

Bayou

Amen. The over sharpening is particularly common, and particularly annoying. Crunchy water and grass, brick walls, textures, etc.

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

I had cataract surgery on both eyes and wish I hadn't waited so long. Looking back on my pre-surgery images, the brightness and saturation were too high.

It's pretty hard to process images appropriately when you're not seeing them accurately.

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

Amen!!!

davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel

Yeah, it does suck. However, It surely beats the alternative. John and Ellen certainly are making money off of people who age, as in everyone. Jim and Tammy Faye did things in a very very similar manner, preyed on peoples' phobias. One question for you though, why let someone else determine how well and when you can see as well as you used to do? Doctors are advisors who make suggestions, patients make decisions. Your eyes are your decision.

HRPufnstuf

My first cataract was small, bur centered. So in bright light when my iris closed down was hardest to see. I asked the doctor when I should have surgery and he said "you'll tell me."
Not long after, I was driving down an interstate and saw a sign on the side of an overpass ahead. Wondering if I could read the sign with the bad eye, I closed the other one. Then I said "what sign?" Then I said "what overpass?"
Called the doctor right away to schedule surgery.

Ruthlessrider

One things that kind of a warning for those who have not yet had the surgery. If it is at all warranted, have both eyes done at the same time or make sure the doc reserve a second lens for the second eye. I had one eye done and it felt like nearly a miracle. Didn’t need the second one done right away according to the doc so I waited. 9 months later was told to get the surgery which I did. When I complained of a difference in vision between both eyes, at first I was told “no way.” Later he admitted that there might be a slight difference, because the lens from the first surgery was no longer available, but he assured me my eyes would adjust. I can still “feel” the difference.

Bubbee Loc: Aventura, Florida

Thank you. You've opened my eyes (oh, dear) to a very possible problem in my future ...seriously. I do have macular degeneration ..not bad now...but I will definitely be on the (uh-oh) lookout.
Really...Thanks!