Scanography
The process of capturing digitalized images using a flatbed "photo" scanner. Also, a process that we first timers get to explore around with different items and methods to capture beautiful and unique photographs.
Before the Real Thing...
We were all given some time to try and test out the scanner with various objects in the studio. Here are some results of simple daily life objects being scanned and placed in unusual manners to create wonderful and unexpected images.
Black board as the background and playing around with my mobile phone's flashlight.
Created by tapping the plastic utensils on the scanner axis.
Tapping and pressing my and Dahlia's hands on the scanner as it move along the axis.
This resembles a photocollage to me, created with the paper attached at the back of the Bubble Blowing Toy.
Purple cabbage alike result created by tapping the Bubble Blowing Toy while moving it vertically down on the scanner as it moves.
Light
In this project, I got to play around with objects, movements, lighting and frequency of object placed on the scanner to produce original and aestically-aweing photographs. Ultimately, I chose the idea of using "Light" as the primary object that I will be scanning. And for the secondary object, it has to be something reflective as well and so i chose a CD.
1. This photo is created by shining my android's flashlight onto the back of a CD and at the same time moving along the scanning axis. Both of my hands are always on the top of the scanner, moving along as it manoeuvre from right to left. (Using an old-school scanner) My forearms are constanly turning up and down so that the flashlight can reflect on the back of the CD. I tried my best to follow a specify frequency for each tilting of my arm so that the produced pattern can be more constitent.
It is amazing how the reflection of light with the CD creates different colour rays. Also, I really love how each light rays created is so straight and even by itself. This experiment really reminds me of the physic lesson I had during my secondary school life.
2. Using the same approach, but this time around my hands weren't moving in a straight line together with the scanner. Instead, I moved in a 'smooth' zig-zag motion. Amazingly, the number of light rays created almost doubled but are now much more thinner. The captured CD images also overlapped the light rays and merged at some areas. This image strongly resembles a meandering river that slowly enters an ocean.
3. To be honest, I retried the first approach this time round again. However, I discovered that I was not able to reproduce the same result simply because of the frequency of my hands tilting is different now. I moved my hands quicker and slowly decrease the speed of it. The result is pretty pleasing as it shows a CD 'wobbling' on a liquid like surface, from the thinnest reflection to the biggest one. The rainbow colours captured at the connecting point of each reflected CD are something I did not expect in the first place as well.
4. I changed the scanner's scanning ppi to 150 this time round so that it will scan faster. To match the speed of the scanner, I increase my tilting motion of my phone's flashlight and the CD too. I am actually really puzzled at how at certain points of the photo, there are zero light rays produced. PS: If you notice, at the background there is a faded image captured of my ITP logbook. I had no black boards to use as my background and so I pathetically used my ITP journal logbook instead. Trust me, it is so hard to keep the book above my hands while tilting up and down with items in my hands.
Reflection after Research:
After this project, I went on to research on all the photographers featured on Lesson One's lecture slides. Out of all the photographers, I particularly likes the styles of Robert Zhao Ren Hui and Elijah Gowin's photographs. I like how they use each photograph to convey a strong message that they want to tell a specify target audience. Something that I am lacking currently is the ability to tell a good story that I intended to my audience in mind. It is hard to translate what I have in my head into a piece of photograph. I hope one day I can capture beautiful images and tell a good story like Robert and Gowin do.
This scanography also taught me how to explore and experiment. Simple objects can make unusual and amazing photographs as well. No frills no fanciful items needed, Simple objects can do the job and create pretty images.
