Scanning Lantern slides

19th Century Magic lantern
 projector Wikipedia

Some time ago a client approached me about digitising a collection of early lantern slides.  Lantern slides are squarish glass slides that contain a mounted photographic transparency and are designed to be displayed in a magic lantern projector. Magic lantern projectors date back to the 17th Century and use a concave mirror at the back of a light source to direct the light through a lantern slide onto a lens which is adjusted to display the image on the slide onto a wall or screen.  Early lantern slides were hand painted images, then later the slides were printed using either photographic or photomechanical processes.

Lantern slides are positive images made from a negative. The image is mounted on a glass plate and covered with a glass cover which is taped at the edges. Lantern slide shows were either for entertainment or educational purposes. My client's slides dated from the 1920s and were black and white photographic images her Grandfather used to illustrate a presentation he made to the Nelson Literary Scientific and Philosophical Institute.  The slides and talk were about the hill tribes of Assam in north east India where he lived for some years.

Oridinary scan of image captions

Scanning the slides involved a two stage process - a reflective scan to record the image surround which contained important image captions and a second transparent positive scan.  In the second scan the scanner light is transmitted through the slide in the same manner as a magic lantern. The combination of shining light through the slide; the fact the slide sits directly below the scan head with no additional scanner glass and the auto focus function, enables a very clear high resolution scan.  Lantern slides are encased in glass so it is important to identify the emulsion side to get a clear scan.  Like glass plate negatives Lantern slides need to be handled carefully with gloves to avoid fingermarks and breakage.

Slide Scan

Final image

Final image

Final image

                       














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Why not all scanned images are created equal

Recently I was reading the magazine section of a newspaper and was surprised by the poor quality of some of the images in an article I was reading.  The images were blurred in parts and had lost resolution and information, I suspect due to the fact that they were never scanned properly in the first place, that is, the resolution they were scanned at was not sufficient for publication.

A lot of people think that scanning an image just involves putting it in a scanner and pushing a button - easy-peasy - so why pay someone?

The answer is its not just a matter of having good scanning equipment - its knowing how to get the best out of your equipment, the right settings and the right resolution for the purpose.

Before I scan I analyse the image to gauge things like its detail and also damage.

I ask:

• What do you want to use your images for?
• Do you think you might want to print them in the future?

I also consider:

• What is the best digital format. If they are colour images for example, I want to try and capture as much of the colour as possible
• If they are damaged.  I want to give people the option of being able to fix them, if not now  - maybe in the future.

Scanning is also about knowing the best format to save your digital images for the future.  So if you have a collection of slides, negatives or photos call me because I can help you with your scanning needs.

Kelburn Normal School Centenary digitisation and display project

Visitors to this blog will have noticed it has not been updated recently. As well as client projects, I have been digitising of Kelburn Normal School's photographic collection in time for the school centenary which was held in May this year. The Centenary turned out to be a great event with 300 attending on the first night and many more on the Saturday for official opening, viewing of displays, and entertainment.  On the Sunday some returned to take a more leisurely look at the photos.

Kelburn School has an impressive photo collection ranging from formal class and sport photos, to music and drama, events and happenings over the years, plus images of the school and teachers.  To date Carterworks has scanned over 1300 images and that is only to 1998! (It excludes documents and photo key notes).

Over 30 people sent in photos many using the Carterworks file uploader to load images from around New Zealand, Australia and England....so even those who could not make it on the day could contribute. 

From past experience with reunions I knew that having original photos on display was not a good idea, partly because many of the photos were small and secondly photos are fragile and can get damaged. As all the images had been archived scanned to international standards it was easy to convert and enlarge them on to A4 sheets for display.  Admittedly the schools printer was kept busy for 3 to 4 days!  The prints filled over 40 square metres of display area.  The boards were placed in 6 classrooms around the school for the main open day and in the hall on the Sunday. There were so many images table tops and walls were also used..  

Below are some shots of people enjoying the photo displays on Saturday.

The photos were enjoyed by all ages.

The larger prints allowed people to identify themselves in the photos and this started many discussions....


Photo Boards in the hall on Sunday - which gives some idea of the extent of the collection.

The work continues....
From 1998 onwards the school had class photos on display in the school hallways and stairwells.  Those photos not in a digital format (from the late 1990s to 2008) will be digitised over the coming months to complete the project.....

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Reproducing a water colour

A while ago I was asked by a couple to reproduce two beautiful original watercolour paintings. The paintings were painted of their daughters by an elderly Aunt.  One of the daughters, who now lives overseas, had asked for a copy of the paintings that she remembered as a young girl.

As an artist, I think it is important to reproduce colours accurately, something that was quite hard to do years ago when colour print technology was limited. 

Fortunately the watercolour originals were in beautiful condition.  I chose an archival matt paper ideal for art reproductions that resembled the original watercolour paper in its colouring and subtle texture. As I have a fully calibrated scanner, computer screen and printer I was able to accurately match the printed colours to the original watercolour.  The prints were reproduced using my  beautiful high resolution Epson Stylus Pro 3800 printer, which has archival inks. The family were really pleased with the end result.  As a bonus the family now have digitised archival copies of the original artworks which they can share.



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