Scanner magic

I have been asked many times to explain how I create my images.  I usually give the standard answers about using a scanner as a camera and digital  manipulation in photoshop.   But as with any art,  there is a moment of magic when all of the elements come together for that  "aha!" moment.  As the saying goes, "I can't define art but I can know it when I see it".  I have scanned thousand of images into the computer and most of them went straight to  delete.  After years of working with scanner images, I have developed my judgement about which images are worth trying to process in photoshop.  Image processing is very time intensive.  Twenty, thirty, or sixty hours into an image is not when to decide it is a failure. 

The first things I look for are subject texture, dimensional qualities, color, and interest.  Working within that context, I want to develop the image compositition.  Computer photography enables one to experiment with composition in real time until the desired balance is achieved.   The other important image quality is background colors.  Background colors are created with colored papers.  The colors must in some significant way complement or contrast with the image subject.  It is an art not a science.  When these elements come together it becomes magic.  Hence the title of this little blog, "Scanner Magic".   Which also leads one to one of the qualitative scanner photograpy sites on the web.     http://www.scanner-magic.com/index.html



Enjoy

Robert Fleming

scanner techniques technology

I am not an expert in how a scanner works.  A scanner sends out a bright light much like a photocopier in every office and the sensors pick up and interpert the signal reflected off the scanned objects.  This is a very simple description of a complex machine and internal programming, which is quite frankly, beyond the understanding of most of us.  Having said that, we still can learn to manipulate and use a scanner operating system in creative and artistic ways.  I will of course write posts on relevant techniques I use with a scanner as time goes on. This link gives some basic understanding of scanner techniques.http://www.photo-vinc.com/articles/Flatbedscanner/Flatbedscanner.html

My greatest desire is to focus on the artistic result and the motivations of the artist.  Art and life are as intertwined as blood and breath.  One does not exist or function without the other.  How does a camera work?  How does a TV work?  I don't know.  I am more interested in the results of their use. 

Bob

Scanner Photography introduction

This is the first installment of my thoughts and ideas concerning the art form called scanner photography.  A flatbed photo scanner is used to capture or create images directly from the objects themselves.  A photo is not taken and then laid on the scanner.  The scanner is the camera. 

The second part of scanner photography, at least my unique style, involves many hours in photoshop.  Adobe Photoshop has many tools available for manipulation of images.  I will not attempt to explain those many tools right now.  Over time,  I will write short blogs on how I use the various photoshop tools.

Sounds easy enough...and in some ways it is.  Remarkable images can be created in moments with a simple scan and proper photo editing.  However if one pushes the limits and capabilities of the process it becomes as complex as one wishes or desires within the overall creative process.  After almost nine years I don't feel I have mastered everything, nor have I accomplished all I want to achieve.   It has become a lifelong work in progress.

Scanner Art has become for me, a technical journey, a social journey and perhaps most importantly a journey of what one sees, what one believes and what one wants to attempt to share.

Welcome along

Robert Fleming