One of the biggest problems when scanning color negatives is, to get the color and contrast right. While scanning software often addresses this issue, I know many users struggle to get colors right. There is a very good Adobe Lightroom plugin for a while now that helps the user to create wonderful scans from negatives. It was initially introduced for converting camera scans, but it can also be very helpful for converting scans from your flatbed or dedicated film scanner. Nate Johnson the creator of Negative Lab Pro (NLP) has updated the plugin to Version 2.1.2 which now enables you to effortlessly combine the power of a real scanner with the beauty and handsomeness of a really cool plugin. In this short tutorial I go through the required steps to give you the freedom of a non-destructive workflow in Lightroom combined with a very solid negative conversion tool.
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Point Reyes
The search for serenity at the pacific coast of the Marin Headlands
The deep sound of the fog horn hits my ears while I am driving across the Golden Gate Bridge. My mind is filled with excitement and I devoutly enjoy the fascinating view when the bridge appears from the fog that silently lays over the bay. With every mile I drive, I get further away from the bustling city towards the safe haven of the Point Reyes National Seashore at the roaring coastline of Marin County.
Read MoreColor Negative Scanning Example No.2
Back again with a color negative film scanning example. I had to re-scan this image for a book project as the lab scan did not have enough resolution for the book and therefore I thought this would be an intersting example for everybody interested in scanning film.
In the video I show the steps I do in SilverFast HDR Studio. SilverFast HDR Stduio works with linear scans and if you are interested in how you make these scan check my previous blog post for a detailed explanation.
Read MoreEpson Scan Tutorial for Color Negative FILM
Epson´s consumer scanners all come with "Epson Scan", a scanning software for all needs. Many scanner operators however tend to use third party software for their scanning tasks. Today I will show you how to get good results from Epson Scan, but I will also try to elaborate the drawback of Epson Scan and why Silverfast will give you even better results in the end.
Read MoreScanning Color Negative Film
I always wanted to write about scanning color negative film. Now I was finally able to put together this site with lots of useful information to get started with scanning color film. The main part of this section is the video tutorial that can be found below.
While positive film seems so much easier to scan, obviously you can see the positive image already, it seems some kind of mystery to scan print film. The first thing you hear is, that you cannot get accurate results due to the orange mask. The orange mask and the fact that the image is inverted are of course two complications we have to deal with, but these challenges are not as complicated as you might think. The biggest problem is that we need to accept the fact that there is no accurate or "correct" scan that we retrieve from the scanner. Even during darkroom printing all prints were interpretations. The old Ansel Adams quote about the score and the performance is also true for color film. Once you have accepted this, you are good to go!
Make you own scans, your own interpretations, give the scans your artistic voice. That is what makes home scanning so fascinating.
Read MoreFilm Exposure Considerations for Epson V-Series Scanner
In preparation of an upcoming video tutorial on how to scan color film, I thought I share some recommendations for exposing negative film especially for scanning.
Read MoreScanning Negative Film with Silverfast - Introduction
Introduction
When I started scanning film, I thought it would be an easy process. I severely underestimated the learning curve required to become a good scanner operator. I intentionally use this term, as it precisely describes what you do when scanning film. Beyond the basic operation of the scanner and software, you need to make basic artistic decision when scanning, similar to those made by master printers in the traditional darkroom.
Read MorePierce Point Ranch
The era of the great Point Reyes dairies opened in 1857. Here are images from the Pierce Point Ranch which is under National Park Service management, which is dedicated to the preservation of the Park´s cultural heritage.
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Shadow detail comparison of an underexposed negative (left) and overexposed negative (right).
How Exposure affects scanning of color negative film
The way we expose film has a tremendous amount on the quality and mood of the final photograph. Of course exposure affects image brightness and contrast, but also quality and color.
Carmencita Film Lab and photographer Johnny Patience both did a wonderful exposure series to demonstrate the effect of under and overexposure to film. Please follow this link to check their series and read their recommendations. You can also find a good film guide from "Mein Film Lab" which explains a lot about the different characters of film. Unfortunately it is only available in German so far.
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Understanding Color Negative Film For Scanning
Learn the most important facts about color negative film
The art of getting a good color print from a negtaive seems to be a dying craft. The modern photographer who still shoots color film normally uses a scanner to get to the desired print. The scanning process is much cheaper, less labor-some and more flexible. In order to learn what is required to get descent scans from color negs, you need to be aware of some important facts.
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