03-03-10 – Something’s Mising

I’d say scanner art is more along the lines of a photogram than a photograph: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photogram

On the other hand, are medium format scanning backs really scanning line by line during the exposure?

Yes, you’re basically strapping a small scanner to the back of your camera. They aren’t real common now, though, because you can get a high enough resolution on a standard single exposure medium format back for most purposes (they’re mostly used for high end art reproduction).

Just to toss my two cents in. By definition photography is: the art or process of producing images by the action of radiant energy and especially light on a sensitive surface (as film or a CCD chip) A scanner has all the elements of a camera, particularly a digital camera, light, lens, a CCD, and the toner produces the image not unlike, say, a Polaroid Instant. The image is produced by multiple exposures compiled by software into a recognizable image. So by technical definition, an image created on a scanner would be photography.

Now the line between the camera and the computer is so completely blurred that for all intents and purposes it does not exist. I could, I think, make a convincing argument that HDR and stitching are valid entries in the contests as well. (Not that I am, here). If the photo fits the context of the contest and was created utilizing the modern equivalent of a camera, then go for it. In this case the intent was to create an original work of art, not a copy of some created in another medium and transferred to pixel via technology, utilizing light and a light sensitive medium, directed through a lens to form a coherent image.

(Before I went digital, my answer to this question would be the opposite of the above. The Digital Darkroom Revolution has changed much.)

I was just going to say something similar. A digital camera sensor is actually millions of little sensors taking millions of little images that are then arranged by software into a recognizable form. Basically the same principle as a scanner. (in theory anyway). If Z E had used the scanner to copy someone else’s photo I would cry foul as that would be against the spirit of the rules , however using the scanner as the camera to “photograph” an object, in this case a blank paper, is an acceptable use to me.

Orionid –
I have to assume that your theme was intentional. It is also certainly very appropriate.

It was a last-second theme idea while digging through the archives, but yeah. It started with “I got nuthin… Maybe I should post a text comment that says ‘Orionid’s missing.'” Then I started digging around came across those three and a few others, like “Used rucks and vans” and said “Damn, Aurelia (Pangolyn)’s missing.”

a scanner is different in that it doesn’t use an aperture and lens to take a still image, it uses a moving lens to create an image of an object.

In this case, it’s using a scanner to create the “photographic” image (in this case, a blank piece of paper). soosh‘s comment raises an interesting point about the moving lens. In the case of a scanner/copier, there isn’t necessarily a single exposure, but rather an image created out of many separately scanned/exposed lines that are then assembled by the computer’s software afterward. That’s quite different from using any other camera to produce an image.

I’ve seen quite a bit of good scanner art, and I’ll be honest, one of the ideas I had for this week was a scan of the empty film holder in my scanner with the caption “Crap! The film’s missing!” But yeah, as a whole, I’m leaning against scanner art in the regular contests. That being said, I’m planning on building a motorized slit panorama camera, which in operation, has more in common with a scanner than a traditional camera, and I’d like to say that I definitely think it still counts as photography (especially the second-gen design I’m sketching out that will use nikon slr lenses vice a pinhole). example/inspiration

I think scanner photography would make a good theme, but I don’t think that it should be allowed regularly.

This.

(Hmm, if that was shot with a gun, and then shot with a camera a few milliseconds later, that could also be interesting)

Hmmm… I am going to the parents farm this weekend. Unfortunately, my schedule’s booked solid with geek photos, fixing a transmission, and Alice 3d.

I would certainly not argue that HDR isn’t photography, but the idea behind Farktography was that we limit our use of heavy post-processing so as to create a more firm line between photography and photoshop contests.

In other words “It’s not photography, it’s farktography” 😉

I think scanners would fall into the same non-allowable area as say stacked exposures.

I know you’ve all been wondering, “What does Ranger Joe think of Scannergate?”

Well, lemme tell ya. As of 3:45 EST Thursday, they guy has 2 votes. I don’t think U-man is sweating. (And if he were sweating, he’d probably take an awesome picture of it and make us all jealous…you know, like he does every week.) 🙂

Would this have been viewed differently if he had scanned a blank piece of photographic paper instead of a white sheet of paper?

All in all, I think it was damned clever. Isn’t that kinda the point?

Only 3 thus far on the one missing all words ‘Fark’ from the webpage. Does nobody get it, or is the composition so terrible that it’s just not getting votes?

And how does the missing 8 ball on page 3 get more votes than my missing 8 ball on page 1?

Sour grapes, I know; but I really tried to be creative here and am disappointed to have fared so poorly. I’d expected a much better response.