My crazy scanning set up. I use John Oliver Simon’s cranky 2010 Canon Lide 210 scanner to scan the proofsheets, it rarely wants to actually work so I have to cajole it. Then I load the negatives into the film strip holders for the big Epson 550 scanner (from 2013), processing both proofsheet and images at the same time on my elderly 2010 MacBookPro, which has its challenges (not to mention mine, from multitasking), then I file everything.
Since the software and technology are a decade old, the process is cranky and slow, if I unplug anything, if I sneeze, fart, or look cross-eyed, things quit working. They all need massaging, ego boosts, and replacing, if not downright retirement, as we are all at least a decade older than dirt naps. I tried using a more modern MacBook Pro, and discovered that there were no drivers that would run the old scanners. So I’m stuck with the Snow Leopard era.I have not tried it with High Sierra, but I suspect it may not work at all.
If I’m lucky, I can scan 10 proof sheets of negatives a day, the average tends to be around six. It takes about an hour to scan, edit/crop, and file each sheet of negatives (about 20-35 images per sheet). Whaddya mean you forgot to flip the negatives upside down and backwards? Rescan.
I am nearly finished with my negatives from when I worked at The Paper into the digital age. Next up, the Slug Fest, and the Russian River Jazz Fest. I have a box of negatives of travel photos and another big box of poet photos on deck—some of which I’ve done scanned, but it’s still a lot of work. The old Epson scanner is challenged by low light imagery and chops people up like Mad Sweeney Todd. I’ve tried scanning the negatives directly but that doesn’t work either.
I always knew that I’d eventually have to deal with my negatives but after having to pack them up for three evacuations, three boxes weighing at least 30 pounds each (all that silver bromide), I decided that now is the time to do it even if I don’t have the right equipment. I really want the better scanner before I tackle the poets. So many times I took photos of people because I like the way it looked, or the lighting intrigues me, I often didn’t know who they were. I sure have a lot of photos of Norton Buffalo hamming it up.
Jerry Downs tossed a closetfull of slides... I loved the photo of him in the dumpster under an avalanche of slides but I was also aghast. I replied, well, I’ve been scanning all my old negatives and I’m glad I did, rather than toss them— as I found photos I never printed and in several cases, didn’t even know I had taken photos of—including Robin Williams and Emmylou Harris. But having to evacuate three times with three heavy boxes of negatives, plus several boxes and crates of writing and art nearly killed me as several flights of stairs were involved. I took a few days off from scanning, I’m burned out, but every time someone asks if there’s a fire, I feel the urge to redouble my efforts.
I am still waiting for the perfect refurbished Epson Perfection 850 to be in stock (but they are rare as hen’s teeth), so that I can do a decent job of the poet photos. My budget is a shoestring. I need a GoFundMe. I will need a wet mount easel to scan some of the photos—like with the Robin Williams photos. I am learning as I go. No manuals for this stuff. Some images I will need to rescan.
At night all I dream about, is editing and filing problem negatives... and finding lost ones. Then there are the pages I didn’t date, thinking I’d remember...like the Forestville Poison Oak Festival, because there are male strippers wearing masks and little else on that roll. Sadly, some of the negatives I was looking for, specifically Brownie Mary, Tony Serra, and Dennis Perón have not turned up, and since I am down to a handful of files, they were probably nicked by the same jerk who took my Ella Fitzgerald photos.
What I’ve learned is that you can’t pick and choose, the only way out is through, begin anywhere, as long as you begin—and there are no shortcuts, I’ve found them all... Ah, but the treasures I am uncovering! So, what is your Covid project?
No comments:
Post a Comment