Dark-flash photography is exactly what it sounds like | News | Techie.com.ph
10:37 PM | Thursday | 09 September 2010

Your camera's built-in flash isn't exactly designed for taking outstanding nighttime photos. The solution? A newfangled light source called dark flash that uses good ol' infrared and ultraviolet light.

The most common problem with camera flashes is how artificial photos turn out. More often than not, the foreground is the only part that is clearly visible with almost little to none of the background left to be seen.

Freshman computer science major Dilip Krishnan and assistant professor Rob Fergus, both from New York University, developed dark flash to address this problem.

The technique or system works like this: First, the shutter opens and takes a shot with a combination of infrared and ultraviolet light.

Then, a second exposure follows in rapid succession. This time, with no light source to get better hues.

Finally, a special software developed by Krishnan and Fergus combine the two exposures.

Unlike long exposures, dark-flash photography does not require the subject to stand still and is thus more practical for everyday use.

Until the technology goes mainstream or until Black Silicon beats it to the punch, we'll all have to make do with our poorly lit, amateur (a.k.a. night-vision/Blair Witch) snaps.

Photos courtesy of newscientist.com