Scanography Close Up

The spiral curve of the Nautilus shell is one of the most perfect forms in nature.
 
When I started writing this journal, I thought perhaps I would be discussing camera technique or gear because that's what on everyone’s mind.  When people ask my opinion, it is usually about what camera they should buy, after which we move on to discussing the merits of the iPhone.  The best camera is the one you have with you.
 
Instead what happened after that first journal entry in September, an act of nature inspired my posts, and I ran with the topic of most interest, Irma.
 
Well here we are again discussing gear… and nature.  The gear is a flatbed scanner. The work produced is experimental, exciting, different and new.   Imagine if you could set your subject on your camera lens to take a photo; that is exactly what the scanner is capable of.  It’s called scanography: using your scanner as a close-up camera.
 
Two pieces of art produced by this method are on display this week at the Art League at Ocean Reef.
 
“Nautilus” is a 40” x 30” pigment print on canvas; it has been described as modern art, and it received an award. 

The second piece entitled “Mangoes” is a mixed-media photograph, a combination of a scan of the summer fruit from my backyard with a photograph of an abstract painting.  Someone asked if the fruit on the 60” x 40” museum mount photograph were of actual size.  I replied with certainty, they are larger than life!
 
Since the scanner is designed to produce sharp images of what is on the glass, the images are characterized by super detail, and then soft depth.   The tricky aspect of this work is you have to be able to work with your subject being upside down and backwards.  One thing about using a close up lens or camera is it often allows you to really see an object.  
 
You have two eyes and you have a vision.  Don’t limit your reality to that which is contained in the camera’s viewfinder.  Think outside of it.