A Different View of the World.

We see only a tiny bit of the spectrum. Cameras actually record more than we can see. To make cameras have the same spectral view of the world as we do, the UV end and the IR ends of the spectrum are cut off, and the world appears this way. - a typical photograph we are all familiar with.

If we remove the filter from the camera, we create what is called a Multispectral camera. This camera can detect a broader range of the spectrum than we can. This creates a problem when we view the image, because what colour are those colours that we cannot see? The leaves on the trees are green because they absorb everything except green. Yet, the leaves also do not absorb all the UV light, so it is reflected. Because the UV is more powerful than the green, the leaves have a purplish hue.

If we place a filter in front of this camera, then all the visible light and UV are eliminated, and so the camera only detects Infrared Light, which the sensor can receive. This gives the world a pinkish hue. 

In a program like darkroom, the photograph can be manipulated to remove this pinkish tinge and restore a more normal view of the World. The leaves on the tree reflect all the Infrared light, so they appear falsely coloured white. These are all false colours because we have no perception of what colours infrared actually are.

Moving further into the Infrared region, we can use a Thermal camera that detects the heat (Infrared Radiation) or light emitted by all hot bodies. All these colours are false; the redder, yellower colours are warmer than the more cooler blues and greens. The colour is arbitrary.