Quote:
Originally Posted by thecatspajamas
One other thing you might try that I didn't think to mention before is taking a piece of cardstock (index card, backing board, etc) and cutting a window in it just slightly smaller than the negative you are scanning, and use that to "frame" the negative before placing the light source over it. That way the only light coming through to the scanner is through the negative rather than the stronger light coming from around the negative to mess up your scan. Depending on your scanner software, it may automatically "adjust" the brightness and contrast of the scan to compensate for the additional light coming in, which won't help your scan.
That would be more for the flashlight method. Using ambient light, if you're getting a greenish tint to the image, you might try either scanning in b/w, or after you've scanned, converting the image to b/w in Photoshop. It's going to be tough to eliminate all color from your scan using ambient light I think. My guess would be that if you just did a scan, with nothing on the scanner and the scanner lid open, the image you get would also have a greenish tint.
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Thanks Lance. I'll try the index card/window tip hopefully today. I spent part of yesterday scanning using natural light (not direct sunlight) coming thru the window which worked best for scanning with the lid open. I did like you said, converted to B/W in Photoshop using Desaturate and that took away the green tint (thanks!). I also used Level (RGB) to try to darken a little (the scan seemed a little too bright, I think. Anyway ... the result is below. Not great, but a start :-) I'm going to a photo lab this week to ask about making a print of the other negatives I have. I may buy a scanner too eventually. I really like the negatives and if I continue to pursue them I really should invest in a good scanner anyway. Again thanks for all your help.
PS: In order to keep Willie Davis's LA on his cap from being backwards I had to scan with the emulsion side up. I thought better scanning results would be to scan with the emulsion side down on the glass? Am I missing something as far as keeping the photo negative the correct orientation, but being able to scan with the emulsion side down?
