I am fascinated by the scanner as a substitute for a camera.
Over the years I have scanned small 3D objects by placing them directly onto the flatbed– nothing unusual about that (see my Flush Series). However, I have also positioned the scanner vertically on a stand and scanned people’s portraits up to 50–120 cm away, using scan-times of 1 to 9 minutes.
When using a scanner in this way, the subject needs to be lit independently using studio lights. If it’s people I am scanning they have to be seated comfortably so they move as little as possible during the long scan. I have also found that it is quite difficult to get a consistent white balance from scan to scan.
Not all scanner models are capable of producing acceptable images when used in this way. Some scanners have extremely limited depth of field only working with objects placed directly on the scanning flatbed. Others, such as the Agfa Snapscan e50, which I use, have remarkable depth of field for such class of equipment. The e50’s approximate scan times at various resolutions I have tried are shown below.
If you have an old Agfa Snapscan e50 in working order sitting in the attic gathering dust I’d be happy to take it off your hands!
For me this process recalls the beginnings of photography when around 1826, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce is said to have made the first photograph from nature with an 8 hour exposure from his upper storey work room window “View from the Window at le Gras”. The search and restoration of the original “heliograph” by photographic historian Helmut Gernsheim is a fascinating story in itself.
