Seeing better in nature: contrast enhancement by near infrared imaging

Abstract

Abstract The present paper deals with the question: why is long-distance contrast improved when imaging in the near infrared? This is intimately related to the even broader question, why do we see what we see? The latter is a fundamental general question of optics, connecting the fields of imaging with human and/or camera vision. We first describe the concepts of perception and contrast in general and then discuss the physics background by comparing visible and near infrared images of various natural scenes. Our focus is on the often utilized contrast enhancement in the near infrared range, i.e. on the question of how much clearer we might be able to see if we could see in the near infrared.