Factsheet
Developer:Héliographe
Based in Tokyo, Japan
Contact:
contact@heliographe.net
Release Date:
latest version:
1.51 (April 2024)
version 1.0:
released May 2023
Platforms:
iPhone (iOS 15+)
Websites:
https://trichromy.com
App Store Link
Price:
Free download
In App Purchase to unlock watermark options
USD 2.99
EUR 2.99
JPY 400
Description
Trichromy is a camera app for iPhone/iPad that lets people experiment with trichromatic photography. Trichromatic photography is the oldest color photography process, predating color film: it relied on clever insight into human perception to create color from black and white film exposures.Features
- Straightforward, easy to use interface that makes it easy to capture trichromatic photos
- Timing slider to quickly set time between exposures, from 1/30th of a second to 5 seconds
- Square and 4:3 aspect ratio capture
- Supports tap to focus, front facing camera, and rear camera switching (on iPhones with multiple rear cameras)
- Output options to overlay date/time/app logo watermarks, with an adjustable trichromatic effect to match the capture aesthetic
History
When I discovered the work of Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky, I was subjugated. Tasked to document the vast Russian empire in the early 1900s, he took thousands of color photographs in a time before color film. How did he achieve this? By using trichromy, a 3-exposure process where black and white pictures were taken through a red filter, a green filter, and a blue filter, and then recombined.If the 3 pictures are perfectly aligned, they form a normal color image - but any misalignment due to movement in the camera or scene creates a wide range of color effects that give trichromatic photography a distinct aesthetic.
While some artists still produce trichromatic images using black and white film, I wanted to bring it to the world's most pocketable, accessible camera: the iPhone. I built a first prototype that was distributed to photographer friends to experiment with; based on their feedback, I refined the UI and finally released it on the App Store in 2023.
Numerous bug fixes and improvements since have made it the best and easiest way to produce trichromatic images with your phone.
Promo Images
Sample Photos
Logo/Icon
Additional Links
Trichromy website: https://trichromy.comInstagram account, with lots of shots taken over the years: https://instagram.com/trichromy
About the Developer
65×24 is designed and developed by Héliographe (https://heliographe.net), a small Tokyo based design studio making tools for photographers and visual artists.Other Héliographe projects include AgBr, a black and white film emulator in open beta built in collaboration with Nuevo.Tokyo; Trichromy, a trichromatic camera; and minimalist photographic tools for iOS/iPadOS/macOS such as EXIF Inspector and Matte Viewer.