I have chosen something a little different for this technique challenge. Have you ever thought of using your scanner for more than documents and film negatives?
Should both your camera(s) and camera phone be unavailable, you can use a flatbed scanner to create images with extremely fine detail and a shallow depth of field. The moving light source from the scanner can capture images that have great focus, with soft shadows and great colour saturation. And, the high resolution you can achieve gives you great macro images without even needing a dedicated macro lens!
I had not tried this technique previously, and found I was really stretched to visualise and build a composition in 3D while working from the foreground upwards, and while it was upside down. While I was not using a camera, I still had to consider all the same photographic thought processes and how light & shadow would behave.
There are many different styles you can try with this technique, still life, collages, floral, abstract or conceptual. You can find some compositions that would be otherwise limited by gravity if using your camera, and if you move objects half scanned, you can capture great ‘movements’.
*NOTE*
Do not place heavy objects on the scanner glass or items that may scratch or damage the glass.
Do not look directly at the scanning light
Do not place paint/glue/sparkles/ink/weeping flowers directly on the scanner glass
I have read that the multi-function scan-copy-print models don't work with 3-D objects.
Watch out for dust on the glass, otherwise it will give you terrible dandruff effect! LOL!
Light or medium colour flowers or objects work well.
Remember the normal rules of photographic composition still apply
Clean scanner glass with lint free cloth or silk scarf. Keep lid up on scanner. Arrange objects, face down on scanner glass.
Wearing cotton gloves can prevent fingertip smudges.
To achieve the black background, you must work in a darkened
room, or build a “black box” out of cardboard to fit over the scanner glass. I worked in a mildly darkened room and covered the scanner area with a large lightproof micro-fibre towel that I also used to clean the glass area between compositions.
600 dpi scanning resolution gave me plenty of image to work with, and I used tiff files, although my particular software could also save as .dng which was a great option too.
@homeschoolmom I just gave it a go with the same fabric roses - http://365project.org/ltodd/extras/2016-12-04 did not work with the same effect at all with the lamp or DOF - not sure, but maybe I need to scrap this as a challenge idea though! I think it might work with only really flat things.
@jackies365 your colours are lovely & soft! I was able to scan mine using RAW which might explain the difference - thanks so much for showing it is possible!
Almost a complete disaster... After about 30 attempts, this is the best I can come up with today. I found that the focus of my scanner is extremely low with only the sections that touch the screen being in focus. It made for an extremely challenging photo session tonight. Oh well, I'll see what I can come up with when I use the big boy at work. :)
Did this years ago of some flowers using a photcopier Didn't notice the ants until enlarged to A3 and hung on classroom wallwall. So beware of bugs too!!!
And another one..... I used the 'Big Boy' at work for this attempt. After I figured out how to change the settings, I was able to select 300dpi, high quality JPG in photograph mode. I must say that I was pretty impressed with the clarity and the increased DOF in comparison with my home scanner.
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I love what you have created here Lyn, some great examples to get our creativeness into action.
First try at this....