January 15, 2004
Another film vs digital item
Remember the story about the JFK photo archive that was reduced to ashes at 5 World Trade Center? Today's NY Times reports that a number of the photos are now being successfully reprinted from contact sheets, using a very pricey scanner and, in many cases, significant digital enhancement (some of the contact sheets were not in the best of condition).
OK, these were medium format images, not 35mm, but still this shows how much detail one can get with good old film and paper technology -- enough, in this case, for a glossy coffee-table book.
Posted by David on January 15, 2004 11:42 AM
I found this article in the NY Times amusing, mostly because of the breathless description of scanner and retouching technology that is really nothing out of the ordinary. Any high-end scanner made in the last 15 years could do the job, and the retouching part of the job is trivial compared to the kind of work Photoshop artists do every day of their lives. Most people, even journalists, do not realize the amount of manipulation that goes into almost any image reproduced today, especially advertising.
Posted by: Chris on January 18, 2004 10:32 PM
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