Lightness perception in high dynamic range images: local and remote luminance effects

We measured the perceived lightness of target patches embedded in high dynamic range checkerboards. We independently varied the luminance of checks immediately surrounding the test and those remote from it. The data establish context transfer functions (CTFs) that characterize perceptual matches across checkerboard contexts. Several features of the CTFs are broadly consistent with previous research: Matched luminance decreases when overall context luminance decreases; matched luminance increases when overall context luminance increases; manipulating context locations near the target has a greater effect than manipulating locations far from the target patch. The measured CTFs are not well described, however, by changes with context in multiplicative gain alone or by changes in both multiplicative and subtractive adaptation parameters. We were able to fit the data with a three-parameter model of adaptation. This allowed us to characterize the CTFs by specifying the luminances that appeared white, black, and gray (white point, black point, and gray point, respectively). The white and black points depended additively on the local and remote contrasts, but accounting for the gray point required an interaction term. Analysis of this effect suggests that the target patch itself must be included in a description of the visual context.