slater_films

In a world dominated by pixels and digital screens, there’s something undeniably magical about the tactile nature of film photography. The unmistakable grain, the subtle imperfections, and the warmth that emanates from each frame create a unique storytelling canvas that transcends the clinical precision of its digital counterparts. As a fervent admirer of the analogue format, I find myself drawn to the mesmerizing world of 35mm film.

Amidst my love affair with film, I’ve discovered a new realm of creativity – the art of 35mm scanning. While the convenience of digital photography is undeniable, there’s an undeniable charm in the craft of converting physical negatives into digital files. In this blog post, I’ll be sharing my personal journey into the world of 35mm scanning, where passion meets a very amateur setup.

Armed with nothing more than my trusty mirrorless camera and a modest light table, I embarked on a DIY adventure to breathe digital life into my analogue captures. The hum of the light table, the faint scent of darkroom chemicals lingering in the air – it all adds to the immersive experience of bringing film to the digital age.

Join me as I delve into the nuances of my amateur setup, exploring the highs and lows of 35mm scanning. From the challenges of achieving accurate colour reproduction to the joy of rediscovering forgotten frames, this is a journey of trial and error, driven by a passion for preserving the essence of film in a digital world.

Here is my current scanning setup including a blower, light pad, 35mm film scanner as well as a tripod and macro lens. Shooting 35mm film for scanning is pretty easy in terms of camera settings, it is recommended to use the highest res format including a small iso, with 8 stops and just underexpose a quarter stop. The reason for these settings aims to get the sharpest image possible. The reason I believe the blower is a vital is to stop any dust although nowadays it is easy to remove dust but as a perfectionist I aim to get the best image first time round.

The other vital bit of kit and something I overlooked is the film holder, although the one I use is inexpensive I still think it is good as a beginner, it has magnetic holders along with devilled edges to ensure the film doesn’t slide or move when scanning. The light pad although handy is not the best as you want a nice even/ consistent light that is powerful enough to see the negatives as well as diffused enough to not impact the image. This setup is my first setup and although it does scan images I feel as-though there are things I could do to enhance my final image.

Here are the images I took whilst I was scanning, as you can see the setup is very amateur but it does a good job at scanning images that are exposed correctly. Clearly I am scanning black and white negatives a style of film I have now got used to scanning, with this in mind scanning colour film is a completely different practice and includes a lot more science including white balance. I am going to get into scanning colour but I feel as though I need a better digital sensor that will capture a better image therefore making my film images a lot clearer making my time a little more rewarded.

Despite all this being said I do love working with film and I never get bored of scanning or cleaning my 35mm film kit, something I regularly do to lengthen the life of my kit. Playing around with film really interests me and the practicality of using my hands to create an image and make something I am really proud of gives me a massive sense of achievement.

Here is a screen grab of my Lightroom when editing black and white negatives, I will go more in-depth with this in the future but you can get a negative looking like a positive without much hassle or time, this is something that really impresses me with the power of the many different editing softwares I use. I often film myself taking for granted how amazing and powerful my laptop and the software on my laptop is. I digress and will bore you with this in another blog but for now just keep on shooting!!