Pictonomicon

What Pictonomicon does

Pictonomicon helps you examine photographs of prehistoric rock art on iPhone and Android. It enhances color and contrast so faint differences in pigments and rock surfaces are easier to inspect. The result is a way to explore a photograph more closely, not a determination that a mark is rock art.

Explore a photograph

Choose a photo from your device or capture a new one. Try the enhancement controls to bring out subtle colors and patterns, then compare the processed view with the original. This can help you look for possible motifs that are hard to notice in an unprocessed image.

Use the camera in the field

Point your camera at a surface to see an enhanced live preview while you frame it. Capture a photo when you find a useful view. The app also offers video recording and an optional whistle shutter for hands-free capture.

Keep a record of your work

Choose which photos or videos to save. You can add field notes and, when useful, location details. Enhancement settings can be kept as a recipe so you can revisit how an image was processed. Check notes and location information before sharing a record of a sensitive site.

Pictonomicon Web and recipes

Pictonomicon Web makes it easier to carry your work from the iPhone and Android apps into a shared, scientifically repeatable workflow. Recipes preserve the enhancement settings and processing history, letting you inspect how an image was created and reuse supported settings with the original photograph. Results can vary between platforms and versions, but recording those steps makes comparisons more transparent and reproducible. Everything runs locally in your browser—your photos stay on your device during enhancement, with no ImageJ or similar software required.

Interpret with care

Enhancement can make existing color differences more visible, but it can also emphasize natural texture, lighting, and camera artifacts. Compare any enhanced result with the original photograph and your observations at the site.

For details about how information is handled, read the iPhone Privacy Policy or Android Privacy Policy. Visit Support if you need help.