Photography Tips

Scanning Old Photographs and Negatives

April 19, 2020 By Neil

As we hunker down or shelter in place it is easy to start to look through boxes which we may have hidden away in our houses. For most people these boxes will include stacks of photographs from over the years. In my newsletter earlier this month, I mentioned I had done this already with images I took from some of my first photography classes and had those negatives scanned. This isn’t the first time I have transferred to digital, I have done this before with photos, negatives, and slides.

When determining the images or negatives which you would like to scan the first thing you should do is look at the types of images where you feel it would be beneficial to digitize them and go through the scanning process. If you scan everything in the boxes it will start to get costly or timely, if you do it yourself. A scenic photo from a trip in the 1980’s to Yellowstone may not warrant the effort, however a photo of your family in front of Old Faithful on that same trip could definitely be worthwhile to scan and have the memory in a digital manner.

The easiest way to digitize or scan photos is to take a picture of the photo with your mobile device or camera. I have received many reminders of images from friends which was done exactly in this manner. The main benefit to this approach is the instant result of being able to send it to others, however this approach does not provide the highest and best quality. With this method the end result won’t be an image you will be able to print with good results, however if the goal is to store the photo digitally and have the reminder or to embarrass friends from college it could work quite well. While this method works well with prints, it doesn’t work as well if you only have the negative available.

If you have gone through the photos and you found a large quantity to scan I would look at a “bundle” which is available from many camera stores. One example of this is The Gather Box offered by Mike’s Camera here in Colorado. The box holds around 1000 prints in which you put your photos in the box and bring to them. The end result are the scanned photos in a high resolution which will allow you to have the digital memory. Mike’s Camera and other camera stores also offer a la carte services if you have less images, or more complex scan which need to be done.

Another option which is available for scanning your photos is to do it on your own. This approach works best if you have plenty of time, and mainly one type of format which you wanting to scan. The reason why I mention the format which you want to scan is depending on the source there are many different devices which work best. Scanning prints works best with a flatbed scanner, however negatives or slides work better with a film scanner. In the past I have looked into this approach but felt it would not be the best use of my time and money. Keep in mind the time spent on scanning is not only how long it will take to do the scans but also the amount of time in which you need to become proficient in the process as well.

The approach I have used in the past is to outsource the process which I do for two reasons. The first is if I am paying money to get this done it ensures the edits of the work which I am paying to have scanned will be the top images and not just everything. Secondly is the time it would take for me to become an expert. When I am selecting materials to get scanned I want to make sure it is done at the top level and that doesn’t happen overnight. The time which I would be using to learn how to scan images I can use on other tasks which need to be done in the business. With that said, the only time it may make sense to do it yourself is if you are thinking of using your scanning as a learning opportunity so you can make this a service which you offer through your business. In selecting to outsource you can work locally with a photographer who specializes in scanning, or even a local camera store.

The company which I have selected and worked with over the years for my scanning is ScanCafe. ScanCafe can handle many different types of media to scan and offers an option to do it at their location in Indianapolis. When having your worked scanned with ScanCafe you will have a few options to consider once you have selected your media type. The first of these is the resolution of the scan. The resolution which they provide is quite high and will be good for the majority of people. I do select to pay a little extra per scan in order to get the high resolution which does differ depending on media type. The second choice is the format in which the file is saved. Their standard format is in a jpg format, however once again for a little more you can opt for the images to be delivered in a tiff format. When the file is saved as a tiff keep in mind it will be a large file and most people will not need a file in this format. The main reason why there is an extra charge is due to the size of the file which is generated, as this takes up storage space and also slows down the process a little

Once the scans are complete they will let you review the scanned images where you review the images and then may select up to 20% of the images to “reject” from your final delivery. Once this is completed you will then receive download links in the next couple of days, and about a week later receive your media via UPS.

While there are many options you can select when you want to scan old photos, when you are going through the effort and either time or cost to do the work keep in mind a few items once you have the scanned images.

Make a copy of the digital work you receive. Whether this is to Dropbox, an external drive, USB drive or anything else which makes sense. When making backups the ideal situation is to have it elsewhere just in case something happens at your house. This is why offsite storage like Dropbox or iCloud make sense. A service like Backblaze also works well to help have that ultimate offsite backup as a safety measure.
If you decide to get rid of the photographs or negatives just scanned be smart about how they are discarded. Depending on the content you may want to shred or rip up the photos into smaller pieces especially if you have a communal dumpster or similar waste receptacle. The work I have had scanned I do keep the originals to have available for reference if needed, but also remember this is a much smaller batch then what I started with prior to the scanning process.
Be cautious of the photos which you send out. A 100 year old photo of great-grandparents or even great-great-grandparents is a priceless memory. Prior to sending the work off to a distant photo lab make sure you are comfortable with the transit taking place. There are many photo labs and photographers in cities which specialize is this type of restoration, and while it may cost more it is something to consider for these priceless items.

I hope this helps understand the many options which you have when scanning your old photographs and negatives. In the end the main things to think about are the quality, cost and time which you would like to invest for your images.

What’s in the Bag: Travel Version

September 1, 2019 By Neil

I frequently get asked questions about my gear and thought it would be helpful to put together a couple of posts about what photography gear is in my bag currently (August 2019). This first installment deals with travel and the type of gear I have with me on the road. A couple of years ago I purchased an Olympus OM-D EM5 Mark II which is a 4/3 (four thirds camera), this switch has really changed how I travel and downsized my gear bag.

What's in the Bag: Travel

The gear in this image is a representation of how I travel, sometimes it is more than this and other times less. When it is more, I am adding a laptop and external hard drive for downloading and processing images while I am on the road. The instances it is less I usually remove the small tripod, international power adapter and polarizing filter.

The Essentials

Backpack: The most important item when traveling is method used to carry your gear, and I have tried many different bags over the year and do prefer a backpack to other bags. Almost two years ago I found the Tenba DNA 15 Backpack, and this is now the bag I use when traveling near or far with the four thirds camera. I have even used this when traveling without camera gear since it has a removable insert and can hold enough for me to travel over a weekend.

Camera: As I mentioned above I am currently using the Olympus OM-D EM5 Mark II camera along with the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm F4.0 PRO Lens. In the four thirds world this lens is equal to a 24mm-200mm lens in a small compact set-up. I have traveled with this all over the United States and the World capturing images with this camera body and lens and it has worked well for me. Being small it is less intimidating when taking pictures on the street, and it also doesn’t stand out larger DSLR cameras, plus if you spend a good amount of time exploring it weighs a lot less than a DSLR helping you on those hot and humid days.

In addition to the camera, it is important to have a battery charger and cleaning cloth with when traveling. The battery charger won’t always be with you during the day, just make sure to charge your battery fully each night.

Memory Cards: Memory cards are getting smaller and smaller, making them easier to misplace, thus I use a Think Tank SD Memory Card Case to keep them in order. I have around 10 cards in the case and if they are empty they face out with the label and once I have shot on them I put them in the case with the label not showing. In addition I will attach the case to my bag with a short cord to ensure that the case won’t get out of reach of my bag which is extremely important if you are not downloading cards each day as you travel light. There are many speeds of memory cards available, what this translates to is how quickly the data is saved on the card. In most situations a Class 3 card will suffice and give you the speed you need to capture stills or video.

Phone: I use an Apple iPhone as a travel tool with a handful of apps which I use on a regular basis. I also use the phone to capture images as well as video and have found in certain situations the camera on the phone works just as well as camera for capturing a quick image. When capturing video, think about using timelapse in the right situation.

Additional Gear

Filter: I try to have a Polarizer filter in my bag when I travel. This filter will help cut down on glare, help with a little slower shutter speed when that is necessary as well as giving landscapes a little pop with color. Now some of these items you can do in post-processing but shooting it in camera initially helps lower your processing time. The size of the filter will depend on your lens, with the set-up I mentioned above I use a 72mm X2 CPL Circular Polarizing Filter.

International Travel Adapter: Traveling internationally and finding you don’t have the correct plug for country you are in doesn’t really set well. Some hotels are adding plug which will accommodate multiple types of plug put don’t expect to find this is all locations. A
Worldwide All in One Universal Travel Adaptor helps with this issue and will make sure you have the correct plug whether you are in the UK or Europe (which use different plugs).

Tripod: The tripod is a helpful tool when capturing images as it will help steady the camera for those longer exposures, but also will slow down your photography process so you can think about the image you are framing in the camera. The moment you put down a tripod in some locations you will have someone approach you as for some reason it translates to being a professional. The Platypod helps with this and also is small to carry as you travel. There are some differences between the Platypod and a regular tripod you need to get use to when using, however putting a small ballhead on the Platypod does work quite well. With a four thirds camera I use the Platypod Ultra, however with a larger DSLR you will want to consider the Platypod Max.

Computer: When traveling for a longer period of time, I will bring my laptop which the Tenba DNA 15 Backpack will hold up to a 15″ laptop along with your camera gear. At this point I am using an Apple MacBook Pro for processing my work.

External Hard Drive: An external hard drive is a must for backing-up your work while travel with a laptop. At this point when traveling you should consider only a SSD hard drive. The speed of these are quite amazing, and with less moving parts than a traditional hard drive it holds up well when traveling. I am using the Samsung T5 SSD 1TB version at this time, which gives me plenty of room to backup images.

Other Items

Using just one lens I am not changing lenses in the field, thus I don’t find a need to carry a RocketBlower with me when traveling, however it is still good to have one at home. I am looking at other methods to backup photos while traveling on the road and am still doing some research on the best options when not traveling with a laptop. Once I find a good solution I will be sure to share.

Disclosure: I have linked to Amazon for additional details on the gear which I have mentioned above in some situations. Purchasing through these links may provide a small affiliate commission, however you should be able to find all of the gear mentioned at your local camera store as well.

Personal Photography Projects – Revisited

February 15, 2011 By Neil

Just over a year ago I posted a blog post on personal photography projects asking people to chime in on what they would be doing in 2010. Last month I followed up with a few of the individuals providing feedback on this to see if they would like to discuss their personal photography project from last year. The one common theme I found is that it is important to set goals for yourself in small steps which look towards the larger picture of what you are want to accomplish. Of the people I followed up with, I wanted to share some detailed insight with three of the projects.

Christopher Rice of Denver did accomplish what he wanted to do with his 303 Project. The project of photographing the industrial areas of Commerce City got to a point where he is satisfied with what he captured and the emotion created to viewers of the images. He found during this project there were safety concerns and of course accessibility in the area of town where shooting from public areas added to his ability to think about the subject matter differently due to these constraints.

Missoula baby and wedding photographer Annie Florin worked on personal photography this year, but with motherhood and running a business there was a different approach taken. Instead of completing the project all at once, she concentrated on finding time to photograph now and once her son is a little older she will revisit the images and work on post-production at that time. I think this is a great idea as she has taken out some of the issues causing people to put a project on hold as in your mind there are excuses. The second part of this is the photographs taken now can be viewed differently in the future when you revisit the images as a collection versus an ongoing project causing you to alter direction in the midst of the project itself.

Marcy James had planned a couple of projects at the beginning of last year, however shifted gears to a project which became an exciting experience. This seven-month project involved rolling out a large piece of black roofing paper on one of her bedroom walls to be used as a photographic sketchpad for all of her ideas. With a majority of the writing and drawing taking place in the middle of the night as her family was sleeping beside her, she would see these ideas at night and also in the morning each day. The idea started as she works a full-time job she would find herself waking up at 2am and to think about the job and all the things needed to be done. One of these nights the thought was if she would be up in the middle of the night then why not use that time for art. We all know it can be hard to find time for everything, however Marcy made the time to get this to work. During the six months and as her ideas were added it let her feel reconnected to her art process, and being up in the middle of the night was exciting for her. As her ideas came to life they would be attached to the piece to show completion as well. After six months, the piece was shown in a local Missoula coffee house she thought about from the onset. In talking about the show, she felt that it was really showing a personal piece of her to everyone and may have been one of the pieces which was her most vulnerable to date as it contained the ideas she thought of in the middle of night which may have been done, didn’t really work or still in progress.

There are many factors impacting people as they are working on the personal photography projects or goals moving forward. However through creative means you can find your own way around these constraints and find time to do what you seek out to do whether it is a photography project or anything else.

In 2011, some of the photographers I followed-up with have plans for their personal work which for quite a few are continuing on projects pushed to the side last year due to time or other ideas in their place. I have some photography goals for this calendar year I will share in the next few weeks on this blog. Based on what you enjoy photographing what are you thinking of doing as a personal project this year and how will you make sure that you get that project completed?

Lightroom 3 – Book Giveaway

February 11, 2011 By Neil

It is not often when I mention a specific product or service on my blog, however this is one of those times where I feel it is advantageous to my followers if I do mention a book.

At my workstation in my office I have a few books within easy reach and one of these books is Lightroom 3 by Nat Coalson. This is actually the only Lightroom book on the shelf. Having used Lightroom as the primary component of my digital workflow for over three years this book has provided me with additional tips to refine my workflow and also is a great reference tool within my reach. As a digital workflow is something which is specific to an individual photographer it is hard to fine two which are exactly the same, however with the explanation and examples of the a digital process Nat may give you something to think about adding to yours which is not currently in place that is coming to you not only from an author and instructor but someone who was a photographer first.

I have an extra copy of this book, which was provided by the publisher, as I purchased the book ahead of time I have decided to give this away to one reader of the blog. All you have to do is leave a quick comment, even if it is “Hi” and you will be entered in the drawing. On March 5^th I will select one name from random who will receive this book to read and have as a reference as well.

Image Picks from 2009

January 9, 2010 By Neil

With the first full week of 2010 coming to an end, I figured it was time to pick some images from 2009 which summarized the year. Instead of picking the top images, I picked five images taken in 2009 along with how they changed my style or approach when photographing.

Winter in Washington Park

On the first weekend of January 2009, some snowfall finally graced Denver. Not knowing how much would fall, I planned to wake up early on Sunday morning to see the result and photograph around Denver. When heading out that morning, in my mind I was thinking of the tree at Washington Park I had photographed on a May 1, 2008 (Snowy May Day). Arriving before sunrise at the park, I took the similar photograph, but then decided to explore the subject some more with different angles in addition to what should be included in the frame. The end result is the above image which now includes the boat house at the park. While I went into the location with an idea of the subject, exploring new perspectives and challenging yourself in the field is important. This approach was something I had always done in the field, but on this day it just hit home with the result.

Rocky Mountain News – Final Edition

On Friday February 27, 2009 the Rocky Mountain News published their final edition. The News had been a part of Denver for almost as long as Denver was a city and this final edition marked the end of an era. The final edition which I purchased was placed on the front porch to my house as this is how many people received the paper. The idea for this image came to mind when I was walking back from the local convenience store where I purchased a few copies of the paper. There were two reminders which came with this photograph. The first is to think about how people see the subject you are photographing. In the instance of the newspaper a front porch is where you would expect the paper to land and become a part of your day. Sure there are the days it is in the grass, bushes or elsewhere but that isn’t a positive outlook of picking up the newspaper. The second is to be aware of what is happening around you as you never know when a good photo opportunity may present itself.

Coors Field Seats

While at a Colorado Rockies game this fall with a large group, just before the game I noticed the sun starting to drop behind the stands on the 3rd base side of the stadium. As this late afternoon light streamed through, the beverage holders near our seats started to pick up the light. Pausing from a conversation witha few others, I grabbed my iPhone and took the above image. This image shows the importance of having a camera with you at all times even if it is a mobile phone, and is the basis of the Along the Journey… series.

East of Denver International Airport

East of Denver International Airport

During the month of November, I once again did the Thirty Days project. Near the end of the month, I flew back to Denver from a Thanksgiving trip in Southern California. Knowing that the my flight would land after midnight I thought about heading out to photograph at that time, depending on the weather. Upon arriving at my car close to 2am, I thought about it and took a drive east of the airport to photograph. I knew it would be cold, so I prepared myself as best I could in the conditions. After spending about 45 minutes on the plains I headed home tired, but more so happy I pushed myself to use that opportunity to photograph. It is easy to stay somewhere warm, but the images can not be created without pushing yourself. In this instance I found my Day 30 image, but also have ideas to look into later this year.

Hannah’s Birthday at Disneyland

Hannah at Disneyland

My niece turned five in 2009. For her birthday, she was treated with a trip to Disneyland to see the princesses and fairies. I decided to fly out for the occasion and join my sister’s family, as well as my parents who made the trip to Anaheim. Of course there was no way I would not head there without a camera and during the day I took many images of Hannah enjoying herself at the park. Capturing the moment is important but so is taking time out to enjoy the important moments in life as they will quickly pass.

There were many other pictures taken during the course of 2009, but I feel the above five highlight the year and serve as a reminder of why I photograph.

Reaching out to Customers

January 5, 2010 By Neil

In photography as well as any business it is important to make a personal connection with a customer or prospect. In these days it is so easy to just let be an ‘e’ contact as e-mail, twitter and the many other e-communication methods which exist at this time become a normal part of our lives. One method which I use to connect to current customers as well as prospects is something which has been around for quite a while, a hand written note.

When visiting any local bookstore or card shop you will find the number of note cards they have on hand has been decreasing over the past few years. In addition the cards on hand might not be what you would like to send. One option you have is a custom note card from Neil Corman Photography which may use any image in the catalog.

Custom note cards are available in two sizes (4″ x 5.5″ and 5″ x 7″) and come in bundles of 25 with your choice of either a standard white or parchment envelope. The note cards are normally printed on an art watercolor paper as this provides the best result for the image, but there are additional paper options available. Additionally all custom note card orders include the opportunity to include your own custom text inside the card at no additional cost.

Let us know if you would like to discuss in more detail the pricing and options available for custom note cards and start making that personal contact with your current customers as well as those prospects you talk to in 2010.

Personal Photography Projects for the New Year

January 1, 2010 By Neil

Earlier this week I posted on Picking a Personal Photography Project. In that post I asked you to post some of the projects you are just starting or have planned for 2010. I went through the feedback I received in the comments area of the post as well as through e-mail and picked some to post. The projects listed below are quite interesting and I hope these inspire you with your goals in the new year.

Alex Saunders is making a project of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Southern Colorado. In September of 2009 he spent three days there and would like to get a solid group of 12 images for his portfolio. This would encompass the dunes as well as the surrounding area.

Marcy James has two projects she will be working on completing. The first is meandering through her murky watered futuristic place, no man’s land where she is thinking she will make artifacts found there. The second is finising her butte, america book to submit for blurb’s contest.

Christopher Rice is in the early stages of planning for a photography project to document a portion of the Denver metro area. This planning is to determine if the project is feasible and the scope he will encompass.

Annie Florin, a children’s photographer in the Bay Area, is looking at two different projects. While the first is in the planning stages at this time it is an interesting concept which brings together her local area as well as something in common with her focus of children’s photography. She will also continue her Jack project featuring her son.

I will build on my Winter in Washington Park image as I work to document the Denver area. It is quite common to photograph the mountains in Colorado however the Denver area has it’s own beauty. Covering the city in the different seasons will bring some challenges but also will highlight what the city has to offer.

I hope we will be able to check-in on some of these projects in the upcoming months. Is there a project you are working on which you would like to share?

Picking a Personal Project

December 29, 2009 By Neil

As a photographer you may not always be able to photograph the subjects you dream of documenting in your billable work. It is not that you don’t enjoy what you photograph, but it is just not that one subject which you can document with the camera. Being a photographer means we love the art and what we create, however sometimes this can be lost in the normal course of business as we photograph with our style but also think about the clients needs for their project.

When you look at a personal photography project this is an opportunity to pick a subject for ourselves which is being shot in our style. This is important not only to the professional, but photographers at all levels. I quite often come across photographers who are shooting anything in their free time (I’ve been there), instead of trying to focus in one area. In many other professions you will find people are specialists in a specific area. Off the top of my head Information Technology, Law, and Medicine are some which come to mind. If you find out someone is an attorney the natural instinct is to ask what type of law they practice, which is also the same with photographers. I am frequently asked if I shoot weddings, as they were just recently engaged or know someone who was. With law, you may find someone is handling family law and may not be too excited about the work however they continue to work in that area to build experience and maybe later find a different area to practice. The difference between a lawyer and a photographer is that it is hard to try something on your own when your billable work is done. With photography you can always photograph something for yourself which is where the personal project comes to light.

When trying to find the best personal project a source of inspiration can be what others have done in the past. Of course you don’t want to copy exactly, but the ideas you see in other projects can help spark a format to approach your project.

In November, I photographed every day for Thirty Days and posted one image a day to this blog. Now that the project is over, I am asking people to vote for their favorites. This first started in 2007 as something to get me photographing again and 2009 marks the 3rd year I have done this project.
Lesley Kerr and Zola Kell in the past have done a weekly photograph which they would put together as a diptych. Lesley lives in Georgia, while Zola is in British Columbia and this allowed them to remain connected.
Salt Lake City Photographer Mike Tittel, recently blogged about wanting to get those local photographs which have always been put off as he and his wife may be moving soon. Even if they don’t move, it is important to capture the moment now.
Daylene Wilson posts an image a day on her Flickr page showing work she has taken with a point and shoot camera.

While the above can be good suggestions, you can even mix it up by only photographing one color, metal objects or anything else which will challenge you even more in a set period of time. This suggestion was given to me by Missoula photographer Marcy James as a possibility for the next thirty days project.

When picking a project, the best advice is find a subject which will interest you as this will be something you will be spending time photographing. If there is no interest in the subject, the photography becomes a chore and it will show in your work. You will also want to limit the scope of the project and not take on too much at the beginning. If you make the overall goal too broad or daunting, it will be very easy to not carry through with the project. It is possible to add more, but taking away becomes an issue as the focus is then lost.

I have mentioned setting a goal or finding your objective. This is important for your personal project as it will provide a vision and make sure you stay on track. A tool I use when setting a goal or objective is the mnemonic SMART, which will help you create Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Related goals. How you use this is shown below.

Specific: You want to make sure your project has a specific focus. Saying you want to photograph Colorado is probably too broad, but making that subject the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area in all seasons is starting to bring it to a more realistic goal. Do the research and find out what you want to photograph in that area as even a wilderness area can be a daunting task, and maybe you will focus on a specific drainage, trail or town.
Measurable: What will you measure success by for this project? Do you have different goal levels, where maybe you will post to a website or blog first. As the project moves forward you will pitch to a magazine or journal with a goal to build it towards a book. Likewise, do you just want to build creativity with your project and how will that be measured. Will this be with number of quality images, what is published or some other type of metric. Find something which will allow you to measure the success. In a 30 Days type project, it becomes easier to state the measurable goal.
Attainable: If you live in Colorado and want to photograph the Oregon Coast or the inner city of a East Coast city is that truly attainable? A project which will be something you can access is going to make it easier to be successful. For some people a drive 3-4 hours away a couple of times a month is easy to do and for others it becomes a burden, so you need to know your limits. Also when picking your subject safety should also be included in this category. You don’t want to pick a subject which could put you in a place which may not be safe at all times.
Realistic: Is the project realistic? Can you get access to an area? Going back to the example of the Indian Peaks, this may require hiking and backpacking with a camera and equipment. Is this something you are able to do? An aerial perspective of an area is always interesting, but once again how will that be done.
Time-bound: What is the duration of the project? By setting a project time frame you will be making sure you have a set duration and not postpone getting the work done. This time frame can be an overall goal or a duration which is segmented in order to keep the momentum of the project moving. These segmented time goals are important if you want to document your project in different seasons or in various build steps since it most regions the landscape is changed by the time of year.

As I mentioned under attainable, safety is something which you need to be aware of no matter of the project. This holds true for any project as there are various risk factors no matter where you are photographing. Additionally, security is an issue in some areas and locations may be off limits or restricted. If there is any doubt ask permission first, you never know what additional access you may get as a result of asking.

While it may seem like a lot when picking a personal photography project, the reward is well worth the thought process and working to get those images during your free time.

Is there a personal project which you are thinking about starting or have recently started? Let me know in the comments and on New Year’s Day I will feature some of these projects in a blog post. During the course of the year it would be good to hear about your progress as well on your personal project.