Not-So-Flatbed Scanning

Buttons Copyright 2005 Jeff Wignall

As anyone who earns their living as a writer can tell you, the hardest part of doing the job is balancing the fine art of procrastination with getting some actual writing work done. It is a delicate balance, to say the least. Trust me, when it comes time to finish an article or start a book, there are many things in your office that suddenly need doing--like cleaning a file drawer that has been overloaded for a decade or more, or figuring out how to get a smooshed M&M off of the hardwood floor (steel wool and Murphy's Oil Soap work well). Important tasks.

And if you happen to be someone that writes about technology, there is usually an abundance of fascinating gadgets close at hand that can help you creatively waste the day away without getting a lick of real work done. Take, for example, the flatbed scanner.

Most people think of the scanner as a convenient way to digitize old prints for restoration or for digitally organizing their old print collection. But if you sit next to a scanner long enough and get bored often enough, you soon find out that your scanner can scan a whole lot more than two-dimensional art. In fact, if you're a very creative procrastinator, you'll find that your scanner can scan almost any three-dimensional object that isn't heavy enough to crack the glass--including your collection of old door keys, your dad's Army medals or your cat's butt. How cool is that?

Of course, some of us discover the fun and beauty of three-dimensional scanning at the copy store when we press our face down on the photocopy machine to create a weird mushed portrait--it's the same idea. But with a home scanner you can get very creative about what you scan! The collection of buttons shown here, for example, were just a box of cheap "antique" buttons that I found in a craft shop. (Stay away from the craft shop if you don't want to spend the rest of your life scanning--they have tons of neat and cheap stuff.) But even the buttons are relatively flat as subjects go--anything that will fit on the glass will scan. And here's a surprising thing: because flatbed scanners use a very narrow aperture on the scanning head, they produce tons of depth of field. Your objects will be very sharp!

Some artists have taken the idea of 3-D scanning to exalted heights. Connecticut artist Ellen Hoverkamp uses flowers and veggies (that she apparently picks from her very generous neighbor's gardens) to create wonderful, fantastic digital bouquets: http://www.myneighborsgarden.com/. You simply have to see her photos to get the full idea of what you can do with some basic objects and an inexpensive scanner.

One obvious problem of using a scanner with 3-D objects is that you can't close the cover. One solution is to work with the lights out, but another is to create a "black box" (a cardboard box that is painted black inside and is a few inches deep) to use as a substitute cover. Or you could use an interesting fabric as a cover and use that pattern as part of your design. (I was able to use the scanner lid with the buttons but I used a craquelure filter in Photoshop to add the overall pattern to the shot later.)

I guess great art can be born of boredom--or at least you can have some fun trying to create art. So if your scanner has been sitting there gathering dust, go find something weird in your house or office to scan and see what happens. What the heck, the real work can wait until tomorrow anyway. But if you're at your job, just don't let your boss catch you arranging donuts and cookies (or heaven forbid, the company cat) on the company's scanner.

For more strange-but-fun ideas in the digital realm, check out my book: The Joy of Digital Photography or the course I teach at BetterPhoto that was named after it.

Think Digital, Think Joy!

Comments

[Michael Vanden Berg]

Hey Jeff,

I have been using a scanner to create interesting inmages of different rocks and fossils (I am a geologist). It works really great. If you leave the cover open, you get a nice black background. Check out this picture of Ordovician (this is a geologic time period) fossils:
http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/big.asp?photoID=735611&catID=&style=&rowNumber=68&memberID=81369

[Ellen Hoverkamp]

Thanks for the fine mention, Jeff!!!
I have found resulting image from scanning perishable 3D objects, flowers in particular to be the most tangible, almost touchable way to preserve the freshness and beauty before only the memory of the object remains. I've been experimenting with imaging upside down stuff on glass since the '80s and wholeheartedly endorse the project, time filler or not. One warning from experience though... Don't scan snow. I broke a scanner that way. Anyway, the original function of photography being to document the ephemeral continues with exquisite clarity and depth via the flatbed scanner. Cheers!

[Dawn O'Day]

Dear Jeff,

I just read your blog: Not-So-Flatbed Scanning. After reading it, I wondered how flatbed scanning applies to photography. So, photograms (i.e., the use of light from an enlarger and the use of photographic paper to print the image) comes to mind. I went to the website you recommended and the one thing that I can figure out is that the person who scanned the flowers used photographic paper. If that is the case, what kind of paper did she use or what kind would you recommend? Is there a photographic computer paper, which is textured, that could make the final result look like Fine Art? What other things must we take into consideration?

Dawn

[Jeff Wignall]

Hi Michael,

That is an intensely cool scan--just great. It's interesting that you wrote because I used to be a rock hound years ago and just recently started collecting shells (I have some very nice chambered nautilus sections) and I'm going to scan them. I read about a woman who uses a deep box above the scanner and suspends things from the top (toward the glass) on filment--so I'm going to try that. I think playing with a scanner is really fun and as your scan shows, you can create some really fascinating results. I'm looking for a good source of shells if you know of one!

jeff

[Jeff Wignall]

Hi Dawn,

Yes, Ellen does use photo papers to print her images but I think she means photo inkjet papers. I know that she prints her work on large-format inkjet printers (one of them is an Epson 7600). You can buy all sorts of different papers for inkjet printers and, in fact, most art papers (from art or craft stores) will accept ink from an inkjet printer. Be sure though to read the printer specifications to check the maximum thickness of the papers it can handle and also to see if there are any warnings about using waterclor or cotton papers. There is a great book by Theresa Airey called "Digital Photo Art" that you can find in many libraries (and on Amazon, I'm sure) and she talks a lot about papers, etc. A really fantastic book.

jeff

[Pam M]

Hey Jeff,

I've played with this a bit ... I just have one very strong recommendation (umm put it right below don't scan snow LOL ;) ... don't scan anything that can scratch your glass unless you figure out a way to protect it first.

I'm writing post-learning-experience and pre-tested-options ... so I'm without tried and true results ... but i'd suggest toying with professional level plastic wrap (you know ... the kind that really will stay stuck to the glass when you flip the glass in the air) also i keep wondering what would happen with that thicker clingy kind of plastic sheet (you know like the kind that you can put over a scratched CD and either protect it or maybe be able to read most of it)

... of course there's always mmm what? gauze, parchment, tracing paper ... mmm wonder how that would work ... especially ... what if the object being scanned had a light of it's own (you know ... like a flashlight)? ... then what would happen ...?

As far as backgrounds go ... I highly recommend WHITE ... boring boring boring but easy on the black ink cartridge ... but then i also loved the effects of draping 3d objects in cloth ... tried a plush towel, a light pastel pillowcase, mmm and my neighbor's velveteen pants.

Well, yes, as a matter of fact, i was stuck in a hotel room bored out of my mind!

Ok and now get this! Unfortunately I don't have the make and model# on this item ... but my future-son-in-law and my daughter recently made one of their first "together" purchases: A thin see-thru scanner than can be flipped over and positioned OVER the work of art ... .... mmm which would now make it possible to scan that snow !!
http://www.pcplus.co.uk/reviews/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=29195&subsectionid=372&subsubsectionid=47

Life is wonderful ;)

have more fun ;-D
Pam

[Michael]

Jeff,

I don't collect many modern-day shells, but if you are interested in ordovician (400 million years ago)shells/fossils, you can find them at almost any road cut near Cincinnati, southeastern Indiana, or northern kentucky. Just look for the grey layered rock.

Mike

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