1. An automated, computerized method for determining one of a shadowed and lit illumination condition in a scene, comprising the steps of: generating and storing in a computer memory a sequence of images of the scene, each one of the sequence of images comprising an array of pixels, each one of the array of pixels comprising a set of color bands, and corresponding to the scene photographed in a preselected polarization direction, different from the polarization direction of other ones of the sequence of images; a computer executing the following steps: determining a polarization sequence vector for at least one pixel in the array, as a function of color information based upon the set of color bands, for the pixel in the array, among the sequence of images; and utilizing the polarization sequence vector to determine one of a shadowed and lit illumination condition for the at least one pixel.