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The Kitchen Table

My first scanned old negative!

17 years ago

I chose this one for practice, not realizing only the background was in focus, not the women. Knowing my dad's expertise with a camera, that must have been intentional, but still. . . .

Anyway, my mom is on the left. I don't recognize the woman on the right. I'm guessing this was taken in the late 1930s. The New York skyline sure was different then!

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Comments (20)

country_bumpkin_al
17 years ago
Oh how neat!! How'd you do that?

Bump who's wondering if she has any old negatives around!
alisande
Original Author
17 years ago
Well, first I shelled out a hunk of money for a scanner that takes negatives of various sizes (and slides). Then I let it sit around for a couple of years while I figured out where to set it up. Then I sete it up and let it sit around for a month or so while I gathered up the courage to embark on a new learning curve.

Then this morning I bit the bullet and tried one. Now I'm about to do another. This is fun!
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Realize that CS5 is a full suite of products, mostly geared towards graphics and publication. Within CS5, Photoshop is the same...really geared towards graphics, but good for photo manipulation too. But if you can get it for a decent price, then have at it. I use Photoshop (via CS4) quite a bit, yet again, for photos you'll barely scratch the surface of the what the software can do. Good news is that there are plenty of tutorials both on Adobe's website as well as other websites, even YouTube has an extensive collection of PS tips to get you started. Scnners, it depends on what you'll be scanning. Just prints, or negatives, or slides? I have an Epson V700, about $500. Excellent for all three. Scanning while using the scanners dust/scratch auto removing functions can really slow a scan down. By a factor of...many! Seriously, it might take 20 seconds for a "regular" scan, but then use the built-in correcting software and it can take several minutes. That's true with every scanner. You might find that the correction software actually softens the scan a bit when trying to do dust removal, etc, so sometimes I just scan a straight file and use photoshop. If you will be scanning hundreds or thousands of prints/slides, there are scanners that can to batch processing. Set and forget, come back in a half hour, reload and let it run again. When shopping, keep an eye on the dpi rating. Some are "true" dpi counts, other scanners have "interpolated" dpi. In my opinion, interpolated doesn't really do you much good in the real world scheme of things. While this may sound frilly, consider wearing white cotton gloves, especially if doing negatives or slide scanning. It helps prevent you from getting body oil on any film or on the scanner glass. Sounds silly, but when doing good scans these things show up, and they are the last thing you want to see after waiting 30 minutes for a batch scan to finish. Be wary of Amazon, There prices are fine and all, but their packing for shipping is just atrocious. I'll order all sorts of stuff from them, but I'm hesitant when it comes to delicate stuff. Check out B and H, good company and excellent packaging. Lastly...not sure what you have for a computer, but when getting into high end scanning, file manipulation (Photoshop) and printing, try to calibrate your monitor. That way what you see on your monitor (pixel coloration) is what will come out of the printer. Sorry to drone on, best of luck! It's enjoyable to resurrect old photos.
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I suggest speaking to a conservator who specializes in photographs. They may be able to recommend a method or product to fix the slides. If the slides can not be fixed, you can scan them and then fix the scans with photo editing software. I know it will not save the slides, but at least you will have the photos. And whatever you do, get them scanned before you or anyone else starts trying to clean them. Which brings me to the scanning: If you have a lot of photos that need to be scanned, it may be more cost effective for you to buy a scanner and do it yourself. You can get a very good scanner relatively cheaply and they are easy to use. You can get free photo editing software (Gimp) that has all the necessary features you need in order to fix the inevitable colour shifts and scratches in the photos, or if money is not an issue, you can get Photoshop or similar software.
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I've been scanning my dad's negatives......(5 pics)
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No, flatbed scanners can't be counted on to accommodate negatives. You need to find one that has settings and physical properties that will allow negative scanning. Scanning negatives requires backlighting. I was recently on the phone with a Canon techie, and he mentioned that my scanner was so great because it takes negatives of different sizes, and it was the only one Canon made that would do that. Unfortunately, it's not being manufactured now. I took a look on Amazon and found this one, which will scan slides, negatives and medium-format panoramic film up to 6 x 22 cm. I usually have the negative holder on my scanner set to an opening of 2x3". If I want to scan a 2x2" negative, I just set it in the opening, leaving blank space around it. The preview will come up as a black rectangle, but if I draw a crop box inside the rectangle, my image will show up. I can then adjust the crop to include what I want before I click Scan. Perhaps the DPReview people can recommend other scanners. I'm also wondering if you could use a light box to "scan" the negatives with your camera. Scanning is basically the same as taking a picture. I've handled some slides this way. Because these slides were damaged (mounted under glass and now stuck to the glass--and even worse in some cases), and because I'm not using a tripod, the results aren't wonderful. But I think I could do a lot better if I put some thought into this and started out with better slides.
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Looking for help reg old negatives
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I can answer part of it. I would not entrust that job to Wal Mart or one of those places. With slides, you can buy an adapter for your digital camera called Promaster. Google photographing slides promaster. Nikon Coolscan is does a wonderful job on slides, but is way too expensive unless you have a huge number of them or can recoup some of your cost by scanning for others. I'd like my slides scanned with the Coolscan but don't want to shell out for that right now. Mine need a lot of retouching after scanning which means a ton of work. It is amazing how that scanner can adjust the yellowing from aging and bring back the richness of the original color. I'd try to find a service in another city, check them out first for quality of work, dependability, good business practices, and mail them in to somebody like that. As for the film, I don't know. I'd do some research on the web and send them in to experts. You might want to call bhphotovideo in New York and ask if they might be able to give you a referral or advice. There are other excellent forums with REALLY knowledgeable people, but I'm not allowed to refer you to them. I in no way am associated with the company I posted in the link, just have bought a couple cameras and camera equipment from them, they have an 800#. I had my local camera store scan a painting my father did for me with their state-of-the-art equipment and it was enormous and hard to work with, plus I didn't like the color rendering. I got out my tripod and my $400 digital and waited for a snowy day when the light bounces right (natural diffusion) and photographed it, then got to work in Photoshop, straighted it, adjusted for the fading, and set to work retouching and taking out creases, etc., from all the years it had been neglected. I had prints made on special paper for the family. It is not the same thing, but is an example of what can be done if you know how to do it. Here is a link that might be useful: bhphotovideo
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liz
17 years ago
WOW...what a great shot!! That skyline is soooo nekkid compared to today!! The nice thing about Photoshop is you can sharpen the ladies!!
talley_sue_nyc
17 years ago
Great, Susan!

(My DH says, that's not the NY skyline; that's Jersey, and it looks about the same still)
alisande
Original Author
17 years ago
I was thinking the same thing, Liz. I should open those books I bought on the subject.

I did a certain amount of that kind of editing when I worked for the newspaper, but when it got too involved I invariably handed it over to my buddy Geno. (Why did he have to move away??) :-)

LOL Talley Sue, of course! That explains it. After all, in the 30s they had the Empire State Building at least, and probably the Chrysler Building and more. Yup . . . it's Joisey.
pattico_gw
17 years ago
My scanner has a button to push to turn your picture into a negative look.....I wonder if you scan a negative and click on the button if it will switch it to a picture look????

Or that could be in my HP software...

I just know it is somewhere that you can mess with pictures and do all kinds of things with them.

patti
alisande
Original Author
17 years ago
This one was probably taken the same day. That's my dad on the left. I wish I recognized the other couple. Maybe they took the Circle Line around Manhattan Island. Or perhaps they took a ferry to Staten Island. Check out the street sign. I don't remember arrows pointing to the Police.

Although I appreciate being comfy in fleece and jeans, I love the way people dressed back then. Especially the men!
glenda_al
17 years ago
Very nice!
casey_nfld
17 years ago
Very cool. I scanned over 1000 negatives from my parents and now I am working on 100's from my aunt. It's really fun seeing the old pics.
ronf_gw
17 years ago
Great pictures, Susan.
I've scanned a bunch, too. The software that comes with some scanners is fantastic.

Ron
alisande
Original Author
17 years ago
Ron, Photoshop Elements and ArcSoft Photo Studio came with mine. But I didn't install them because I already had Photoshop.

My dad was an avid photographer, processing his own film, and I have tons of prints, negatives, and slides to work from. Fortunately, unlike his daughter, he was also wonderfully organized. All the larger-format negatives are filed individually in glassine envelopes. I'm sure this is why they've survived after all these years.

This project of mine has been in the works for so long . . . I'm happy to have started it at last!
Jodi_SoCal
17 years ago
Keep posting, these photos are great!

Jodi-
koda04
17 years ago
great pictures :)
i am very proud of you alisande :)
alisande
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks, Koda!!

Well, Jodi, now that you mention it . . . LOL

This is the last one I did this afternoon. I'm beginning to get a stiff neck.

My mother outside the apartment building where I grew up. Early 1940s. She's either coming from or going to a game of tennis. She was an awesome tennis player.
mariend
17 years ago
What printer/scanner are you using? My cousin is doing a bunch of b/w negatives from the 20's etc and some my Dad took. He is looking for an additional scanner to do more.
alisande
Original Author
17 years ago
Marie, my scanner is the Canon 9950F. I bought it from Amazon, where it's no longer available. The one they recommend as a substitute costs a lot less and has fewer features. I like my model because it takes a number of different negative sizes. I think it's still sold by other dealers.

I did a lot of research before I bought it, so I'm sure the reviews are good.
minnie_tx
17 years ago
The gal you don't recognize is wearing a "Chubbie" I think it is what they called a short fur or fake fur jacket My mom and sisters had them . nice scans!!
ronf_gw
17 years ago
The first scanner I bought came with Arcsoft Photo Impression. It was fantastic. But, it's not compatible with Windows Vista. I've been tempted to go back to Windows XP just so I could use my Arcsoft.
I have about 2,000 slides that I took back in the '70's to scan. It will be a good Winter project.

Ron
lindyluwho
17 years ago
I so want to do that with my slides. I have 10 years worth that were taken mostly by my 12 DH. I am cleaning out my mothers house and keeping finding huge boxes of slides my Daddy took. I should really let go or some bucks and buy a slide scanner.

I also found an 8MM projector and home movies at Mama's house. I meant to bring them home. Thought I'd try to watch them. They are so old they might just break but if they play and are any good I might have them transferred to a DVD. I think the guy that videotapes our seminars at work does that. Maybe he will give me a deal on it.

Linda
alisande
Original Author
17 years ago
Linda, either I'm unfamiliar with an Internet acronym or you've had 12 husbands. :-)

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