by Georgia Lange and Stephanie Ferguson
Are you technologically challenged? Does your busy life leave no time for that photography or painting class you’ve always wanted to take? If you are still yearning for a creative outlet, scanography may be for you. With both fine-art and commercial applications, this is a marvelous tool that just about anyone can use and have fun with. If you have access to a flatbed scanner, you can create beautiful images that can translate into framed art, greeting cards, and so much more.
Scanography is most commonly referred to as scanner photography or a scan-o-gram. Originally it referred to medical scanning, but it has come a long way since then.
Georgia Lange - "Scanography has an almost surreal floating effect, as though the laws of gravity no longer apply. This effect is nearly impossible to capture any other way. Scanography is a reasonable way to make beautiful, interesting, gravity-defying artwork.”
There are many techniques to experiment with as you develop your own style. Some people leave the lid of the scanner open and darken the room. Some people take a box lid and line it in black to block light while still allowing a 3-D object on the scanner glass. Others flatten the object on the glass and use white or colored paper as a background. Another fun way to use scanography is to modify your scanned images with Photoshop, as Oak Creek Printworks founder Nancy Haberman does. If you have a good eye for composition and color, you can create some awesome pieces.
Nancy Haberman - "Hibiscus"; Hibiscus flower was laid on flatbed scanner, light was trapped with a black box, and the image manipulated with Photoshop
The internet is full of examples of “scanner photography.” One of the most well-known artists who uses scanography is Maggie Taylor. Unable to paint, she has used the scanner exclusively for her famous dreamscape images. Other fine artists include John Grant and Sandi F. Hutchins. Take a look at their work.
If you want to learn more about this subject here are some interesting sites:
http://www.scanner-magic.com/index.html
http://www.scannography.org/