The last shot I posted gained some traction, so I felt like sharing some more of what I’ve done with my scanner camera. The scan is done from top to bottom in about 2 minutes, the model did a great job of staying still throughout.
While scanning motion is definitely eye-catching and spectacular, there are other qualities to appreciate. The gorgeous soft, yet tack sharp aesthetic of large format photography is easily available with a scanner.
Usually I fight the IR-super sensitivity of the sensor, but this time it made her skin iridescent against the rock in the background.
Nice work! What does the optics look like? Do you have a picture of the whole thing?
Thanks!
There’s a picture of the camera in this comment section
Basically it’s an acrylic magnifying glass stuck into a foamboard box held together with gaffers tape. Focus (and FoV by design) is controlled by adjusting the distance between the lens and the scanner surface.
But wait, if the scanner was your camera then how did you take the picture?
They scanned a mirror.
What do you mean how?
Are you asking “how did you press the button”? Or “how does it work”?
It’s a meme (holy crap that was 14 years ago!). Look at the top comment chain.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/cmwov/comment/c0tpyls/
Oh neat! Yup. I knew about that meme. Wild that it’s that old now.
Interested in this as well.
I don’t understand what is it you did but I’m glad you did it because this looks amazing
He converted a document scanner into a black and white camera.
It really gives an “old camera” vibe. It would be fitting if the background was fake, just in the old images. You have an eye for composition as well.
Thanks! I dream of someday having enough resources to rent a studio space and construct some proper scenography with experts in the field. It could make for some truly wild landscapes and photos.
Wait. Fake backgrounds?
Yeah. In my mind the old (say 18/1900’s) photographs are asociated with a fake background. So you see people posing in front of a screen with some scenery. Like
or Thanks! Informative.
Very intriguing effect. Dreamlike. Does the camera have a viewfinder, or do you just have to experiment to get the framing right?
There’s no viewfinder at the moment. I point the camera to the best of my ability, do a low resolution scan over about 10 seconds, and adjust appropriately. Framing and focus is difficult, but gets easier over time. Whenever I have people helping or modeling on a picture, I make very sure they’re aware that it is a messy trial and error process.
Looks like it’s from a horror movie. Also like she was rolling around in the mud.
That’s interesting! I assume you’re using some kind of pinhole camera setup that focuses the light on the top of the scanner tray? Would really love to see what the camera looks like!
In basic principle it’s a pinhole camera using a scanner as the photosensitive surface. I’ve stuck a magnifier glass to the front, it gives some sharpness and a lot of possibilities outside of a simple pinhole.
There’s a picture of the camera in my comment history, its violently unimpressive
Pretty much what I expected it to look like! It’s really interesting and I bet will make for some fun photos. Basically a very slow horizontal shutter.
You’re spot on, it’s a really slow rolling shutter. I like the idea of focusing in on what is normally considered an undesirable artifact and elevating it to become the centerpiece. Messing around with motion gets some wild results and is a lot of fun!
What kind of angle of view do you think you get with this setup? I imagine it would be pretty wide, but could be way off.
I’m not really one for numbers, and I don’t know understand your question.
If a 180 degree cone in front of the lens is the widest, I think this setup can do something like 80 degrees, and does its best work between 50 to 70. That said, this purely finger in weather approximation, I’m not really interested in the numbers when I do these shots
Thanks! If you happen to also shoot traditional cameras, speaking in terms of say FF EQ focal lengths works too. It does indeed sound pretty wide, with a sweet spot between 24mm and 35mm FF EQ.
Very fucking cool.
I can understand the scan lines, but what causes the “dirt” in the image? Very cool!
Thanks! I’m glad you think its cool!
Im afraid the ‘dirt’ is actual dust and grime on the glass plate. It’s a hassle to disassemble and clean, so I don’t do it nearly often enough.
It adds to it, leave it!
Yes! Marvelous! I’m so happy to see more of your gorgeous work. I just love it - as a concept, and its results; what a damned cool way to art.
Wild, have you messed with moving it around during exposure?
I haven’t messed with moving the camera around, but I’ve done heaps of experiments with motion in front of the camera.
I do have a dream of doing a sort of anamorphic projection through time, that will require camera motion, but that’s on the cooker for now
Very cool. I like the vertical black lines, it looks like a film reel from an old movie that has been scratched going thru the projector.
I was wondering if you had done more. Two minutes?! Wow.
she cute
