Just now I was searching for another photo, and I came across this scan from a 35mm black & white negative that I exposed in June 1989.
This was on a routine trip to East Deerfield. It was a foggy morning, as mists clung to the Connecticut River Valley and over Boston & Maine’s sprawling yards behind me.
I was standing at the famous ‘Railfans Bridge’ where countless thousands of photos were exposed over the years (and that’s just my personal collection, not to mention all the photos made by countless other photographers).
I was working with my father’s M3 fitted with a 90mm Leitz telephoto.
At the time, a long-hood forward SD45 at this common location probably didn’t rate my A-list. Yet any SD45 on the move would have warranted my attention.
Look at the old B&M phone box to the left of the locomotives.
When I revue my old photos, I am routinely surprised how the common has become cool.
Tracking the Light Looks Back!
Nice one, Brian. I like it ( I am also a great ’45 fan ) An atmospheric picture. Thank you for sharing it.
Hello Richard,
Learning to scan successfully and get the most out of your film photographs takes time.
It took me more than a year to begin to get scans that I was happy with, and more than 8 to get to where I am now.
I often discuss elements of my scanning on Tracking the Light, and I’ve attached a few links below that may guide you. I hope to write some more detailed posts on my technique(s) in the future.
I use four different scanners and various software, depending on what I’m trying to accomplish. For 35mm black & white negatives, I often use Epson’s V500, V600, and V750 scanners.
Color is a lot more complicated. I often employ an older model Nikon Cool Scan 5000, which I believe is long out of production and a valuable item only obtainable second-hand.
Generally, I prefer to scan at higher resolution (4000 dpi or higher, except with 4×5 in negatives and larger because the file sizes become unmanageable). After scanning, if necessary I scale the images for printing or presentation. Lightroom works well for scaling and image adjustment, but it takes a while to get use it.
Knowing what to look for in a scan is very helpful, and that takes practice. Early on many of my scans were too dark, which blocked up the shadows, making the photos very difficult to print.
It is helpful to learn to use the histogram feature as a way of exposing in a manner that retains the most amount of detail. Basically if your histogram is too much to the left or right, with not enough of the graph in the middle, you are exposing poorly.
Rather than scanning lots of different negatives, practice using a few and learn to perfect your technique. Watch to make sure that you are getting sharp results. When enlarged if the grains are poorly defined, than you may not be getting the sharpest scans.
I always save my scans as Tif files. Jpgs are compressed which makes later adjustment problematic.
Many scans will need adjustment in post processing to make the most of the images.
Take scanning one step at a time and avoid trying to learn too much all at once.
Here’s the links that I mentioned. Tracking the Light has other posts on scanning, you can wander through the archives at your leisure.
I hope this helps.
Brian Solomon
http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/2015/12/07/rescuing-a-new-haven-ep-3-from-the-shadows-a-lesson-in-slide-scanning/
http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/2017/11/30/chessie-system-against-the-sun-lightroom-instead-of-darkroom/
http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/2017/08/12/from-the-negative-file-csxs-former-boston-albany/
http://briansolomon.com/trackingthelight/2016/12/26/csx-rolling-west-after-sunrise/
First I would like to congratulate you on your great work.
Over the months you have mentionned that you scan your work on different scanners. As I have tons of material to scan (35 mm negatives and slides), I woul appreciate if you could give me your opinion on wich is best based on quality of end product, efficiency and ease of use.
Thank you in advance and keep healthy and safe.
Regards,
Richard Marchi
P.S. I live in Montreal.