It is easy to downplay the learning curve required with scanner photography.  Certainly there are the the mechanics of the process, starting witht he scan itself: getting the scanner set up properly, adjusting any color profiles and capture settings, and even an occasional driver conflict. Once captured there’s another batch of expertise that needs to be developed for editing the images: how to Spot Heal, clone, mastering opacity when painting around the edges of the flowers to make the background black. Lots of pieces that need to come together.

Those elements can be learned through reading of help screens or online tutorials. Much more challenging is the artistic elements of the process. I had some early success with captures, one of my first images, Shibumi, taking best in show at a local art exhibit, but I have to confess that much of it was a happy accident. The flower stalk with the interesting curve at the top was the result of a storm knocking the flower down (and making it eligible for cutting without incurring familial wrath!). The image would be much less visually interesting without that little difference at the tip. I certainly didn’t plan this, no great vision on my part conceived the full result before laying petal to platen glass, but I love the result anyway.

So it seems that the video world has at least as steep and quite likely a substantially longer learning curve.  I thought I’d take a crack at a “live” demo of how to do a scan, buying a bunch of flowers at the local supermarket since dreary November means nothing at all suitable from outside.  Set the camera up on a tripod, hit record, say my piece.  No problem!

Today I looked at the results and the learning curve is setting in.  The lighting was no where near good enough, leaving me and the room with a decidedly orange tint.  Sound quality was only so-so, but I knew I was going to have to live with that given that my camera doesn’t support an external microphone.  Retaking the demo with better lighting would fix the first issue and ensuring I was loud and clear enough for the mic would make the second issue containable, but then I dipped my toe into the editing water.  Ego, meet Learning Curve – and watch out for the whiplash.  Downloaded some editing software and, even without the myriad special effects and transitions available, I’m going to have to invest some time to piece the result together to make it half-way decent.

Well, that’s a good Christmas break project I guess!