Photo Archaeology
Here's a scan of a 37-year-old negative. If I remember correctly, I tried to print this one back in the day, but never got a good image out of it. The negative actually is fine, with a lot of detail. If I had to guess, I didn't have paper that was high enough contrast to do it justice.I took this picture one Sunday at Penn Station in Baltimore, back in the days when you could wander around the platforms without causing anyone any anxiety. It was just a few days after I bought a Leica IIIc and a Canon Serenar 50mm f/1.8 lens.
Tonight, I scanned this negative, along with some others, on my Epson V500 scanner. I've only used the scanner for documents up until now, but its raw specs implied it would do a good job on negatives and slides. I cranked up the resolution to its maximum, 4800 dpi, and it yielded a 28-megapixel file. I noticed in Photoshop that it was 26" x 17" at 240 dpi. Just a little manipulation in Photoshop to adjust the blacks was all it needed to make a compelling image. I didn't even apply any sharpening, as the scanned image just didn't need any.
On-screen and on the web, I think the image looks great. I'll have an 18x12 print made from this file to see how that looks, but for the time being, I'm very happy with the film-scanning ability of the V500.
Labels: Baltimore, Canon Serenar Lens, Epson V500 Scanner, Leica IIIc, Penn Station
posted by Steve Rosenbach at 6:45 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
The scan looks great. Re: the image, a really nice use of converging lines, and a nice, vintage feel overall. It could have been a scene from the 40's :).
--Warren
Steve, are you still printing enlargements at home? Just curious.
--WT
Hi Warren,
Not lately - I want to calibrate my screen and printer - I have the equipment and software, but just haven't gotten around to it yet :-(
Meanwhile, when I need a really good print I go to my local Costco - they do an excellent job, up to 12"x18".
Steve, just curious, is 12x18 a standard print format? I haven't had big prints made lately, so I'm out of touch with reality on this :).
The sizes I know from the old days are:
4x6
8x10
11x14
16x20
are there more modern equivalent standard print sizes, and are standard frames available for the new sizes?
--Warren
forgot to mention 20x30...
I had a 35mm image blown up to 20x30 before too.
--WT
Hi Warren - 12x18 happens to be the size of paper they use at Costco. Before I blew up my larger Canon printer, it printed up to 13x19 - that seems to be a standard paper size you can get nowadays for inkjet paper.
Oh, I forgot to answer your question about frames for this size.
I took a $25 class a few years ago where I learned to cut my own mats. What I do with the 13x19 or 12x18 prints is to use a 24x18 frame (easy to find,) cut a 24x18 piece from a standard mat board you can buy at art supply places (I think they're typically 32x40 or so,) and cut a "window" for whatever the size of the image is.
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