Scanography

Scanography, also spelled scannography more commonly referred to as scanner photography, is the process of capturing digitized images of objects for the purpose of creating printable art using a flatbed "photo" scanner with a CCD array capturing device. The term scanography formerly referred to "medical" scanning, but is unrealated in either purpose or technique. Fine art scanography differs from traditional document scanning by using atypical objects, often three dimensional, as well as from photography, due to the nature of the scanner's operation.cite journal |url=http://www.eastcoastartisan.com/hoverkamp.html |journal=East Coast Artisan |title=Ellen Hoverkamp |date=May/June 2006] [cite web |url=http://www.myneighborsgarden.com/about.html |title=About Ellen |author=Ellen Hoverkamp] cite book |title=The Magic of Digital Photography: Close-up |author=Joseph Meehan |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. |year=2006 |isbn=9781579906528]

History of scanography

The process of creating art with a scanner can be as simple as arranging objects on the scanner and capturing the resulting image; in fact, some early artists in the field worked with photocopiers to capture and print in a single step, resulting in the field of Xerox art. Artist Sonia Landy Smith, artist in residence at 3M and founder of the "Generative Systems" program at the Art Institute of Chicago was one of the first to exploit this ability in 1968, altering the variables of the photocopying process to produce artwork rather than mere copies. [cite journal |url=http://www.artfocus.com/copyart.htm |title=Photocopy Art: Who Were the Pioneers |author=David Liss |journal=Artfocus Magazine |date=December 1995]

Using a computer and a photo editor between the scanning and the printing process provides the artist with a greater level of control, allowing, at a minimum, the ability to "clean" the image by removing specks and other imperfections in the capture.cite web |url=http://www.westcoastimaging.com/wci/page/featuredart/Hoopingarner/hoopingarnerbio.htm |title=Dale Hoopingarner |author=West Coast Imaging]

Harold Feinstein's "One Hundred Shell" and "One Hundred Flower" series contained scanned images side by side with traditional large format photography. Joseph Scheer scanned moths in "Night Visions: The Secret Designs of Moths". [cite journal |url=http://www.photoinsider.com/pages/scheer/scheer.html |title=Joseph Scheer: Confessions of a Moth Man |author=James A. Cotter |publisher=Photo Insider |date=Jul/August/Sept 20003] [cite book |title=One Hundred Flowers |author=Harold Feinstein |publisher=Bulfinch |date=March 1, 2000 |isbn=9780821226650] [cite book |title=One Hundred Seashells |author=Harold Feinstein |publisher=Bulfinch |date=September 22, 2005 |isbn=9780821262061] A 2008 exhibition titled "Scanner as Camera" at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia drew eight artists from across the Unites States whose subjects ranged from scanned and digitally manipulated historic ambrotype and tintype photographs and drawings to dead birds and insects found by the artist. [cite web |title="Scanner as Camera" Opens at Staniar Gallery |url=http://www.wlu.edu/x9703.xml]

The capture process

Scanners differ significantly from digital camera in many areas. First, the optical resolution of a flatbed scanner can exceed 5000 pixels per inch (200 pixels per mm). Even at a relatively low resolution of 1200 pixels per inch (47 p/mm) a letter sized image would be 134 megapixels in size.

The depth of field of most scanners is very limited, usually no more than half an inch (12 mm), but the built-in light source provides excellent sharpness, color saturation, and unique shadow effects. The time it takes the scanning head to traverse the bed means that scanners can only be used to capture still objects, and common items used are flowers, leaves, and other suitable "still life" subjects.

Equipment

Using a flatbed scanner to scan items other than paper documents exceeds the original purpose of the scanner, so special care must be taken with the process. The bed of the scanner is typically made of glass, and care needs to be taken that the glass not be scratched or cracked when placing or removing items on the bed. Since the items to be captured are often placed directly on the bed, dust and other particles will often land on the glass, and care must be taken to keep the glass clean. Scanners will also hold only a limited amount of weight, and items that may damage the scanner, such a liquids or items that might scratch the glass, should be placed on a plastic barrier to protect the bed.Meehan (2006), Chapter 6, "Using the scanner as a close-up camera", by Ruth Adams]

The larger the scanner bed, the larger an image may be captured, so scanners with large beds provide the artist with more flexibility than smaller document scanners. Many scanners advertise two resolutions, an optical resolution and a higher resolution that is achieved by interpolation. A higher optical resolution is desirable, since that captures more data, while interpolation can actually result in reduced quality.

Flatbed scanners typically have a hinged cover that covers the bed, and reflects light back into the scan head. This cover is usually removed or propped open when scanning 3-D objects, to prevent damage or compression of the subject. Removal of the cover also allows the artist to use additional light sources positioned above the bed, which can be used to enhance the depth captured by the scanner.

Scanners can also be modified to provide additional capture abilities. For example, the scanner, with the illumination removed or disabled, can be used as a giant CCD replacement, producing a large format digital camera back at a fraction of the cost of professional large format systems. [cite web |url=http://golembewski.awardspace.com/cameras/earlier/index.html |title=Earlier Models |author=Mike Golembewski] [cite web |url=http://golembewski.awardspace.com/cameras/current/index.html |title=My Current Camera |author=Mike Golembewski]

Techniques

The simplest use of the scanner, which also most closely matches its use for document capture, is as a specialized tool for macro photography. As long as the subject can be placed on the scanner bed, the scanner is excellent for capturing very high resolution images, within its limitations.

A common artistic use of the scanner is to capture collages of objects. The objects are arranged by the artist on the scanner bed, and then captured. Since the artist is working from the back of the image, it can be difficult to get the desired arrangement. Scanning software with the ability to generate a low resolution preview scan can help in obtaining the desired arrangement before the final, high resolution scan is made.

Capturing a moving subject with the scanner can be viewed as a problem, or as an opportunity for artistic effect. As the subject moves during the scan, distortions are caused along the axis of the scan head's movement, as it captures different periods of the subject's movement line by line. The artist can use this by aligning the direction of the scan head's movement to deliberately caused the desired distortion. [cite web |url=http://golembewski.awardspace.com/index.html |title=The Scanner Photography Project |author=Mike Golembewski]

Further manipulation

While the result of a scanner capture provides a work of digital art, just as a digital photograph does, further manipulation of the captured image are possible as well. This may be as simple as flattening the background to enhance the "floating" effect provided by the scanner to complete reworking of the image.

References

External links

* [http://www.hometown.aol.com/BRGWorkshop/1.html Black Rose Gallery] lists current artists working with scanography
* [http://scannography.org/ Scannography.org] contains examples and information about techniques