Since making my video “Transalp Rides to Soho” , view below, I am no longer scanning my film negatives and here I explain why and how I am doing going forward.
I own what is perceived to be one of the best film negative scanners you and I can buy for home use namely the Epson V850 pro, but if I am honest, I have never been truly happy with the out put.
Yes it is good, but something always seemed to be missing from the film that I could not put my finger on.
Went through all the tests to set up the scanner correctly but was never 100% sure my film negatives were giving me their all.
It was while making the video where I go into Darkroom to film dev and print I stumbled on what I am going to do from now on
After finishing the darkroom print I needed a way to show it to the viewers of my video.
And than is when I stumbled on this idea.
Scan the finished print not the negative.
So obvious it makes perfect sense.
We spend a lot of time in the darkroom on test strips and dodging and burning to make our pieces of art come alive that hi res scanning is the way to represent them very well on digital platforms.
I do show the result in the video and it has been an eye opener for me. I love darkroom printing and you really should print your images any way you can to learn how to next take better photos, but now I see the way forward is to scan the printed piece to deliver the best results.
Let me now your thoughts below and as always I wish you well and safe journeys
Dave