| The light field is a 4D function that describes the flow of light in all directions through every point in free space. Digital cameras only capture a 2D projection of the 4D light field entering the camera lens. In this dissertation I modify the light field as it enters a camera, or leaves a projector, to enhance the information content of the captured or projected image. The captured image is a 2D projection of the modified light field and contains information otherwise lost in a traditional camera. In particular, I use grayscale masks placed in simple optical setups to (a) increase the spatial resolution of a captured photo, (b) arbitrarily control the wavelength spectrum of a captured or projected image, and (c) capture one-shot multi-spectral photos. |
