My friend Tom and his pals introduced me to an app called DStretch, which helps make faded petroglyphs more visible.
This is an iPhone photo of a petroglyph at Bandelier National Monument. The interpretive info says this ancient petroglyph was created for a specific ceremony, then plastered over.
Later, the plaster cover weathered away, exposing the design. The petroglyph itself began to weather, so a protective plastic cover was installed.
Here is the same photograph, after processing it with the DStretch app on the iPhone. The intensity of the pigment has increased.
This is the initial DStretch view of the same photo, but on a PC computer (CRBG). More striking than the iPhone result!
This is a slightly redder version.
Here is a browner view.
A well-preserved petroglyph on display at the Visitor Center. (Unedited with DStretch)
And the PC DStretch view. I'm still learning what the colors indicate, and which colors are best for revealing different aspects of the various petroglyphs. Great for petroglyph detectives and researchers, professional or amateur!
This petroglyph photo, nicknamed "Spaceship and Alien," was snapped at Petroglyphs National Monument. Its faded portions, just visible, might be enhanced with the use of Dstretch, too!
