I have been a photographer for approximately 20 years. I started scanning flowers as a way to relieve the stress of my job as a criminal defense lawyer. The "orchid" is one of people's favorites from that period.  They look lovely on the screen, but I like to print them 40" by 60" (my raw files tend to exceed 800 megabytes). I have also explored scanning inanimate objects.  the attached doorknob is one of my favorites.

Recently I have taken my scanner out into the world and pointed it at people and places. I kind of like the fact that at first it seemed that I was scanning photographs. In fact, the images you see here in the "Scanning outside" serie were direct scanns.  
Perhaps a brief history of my development would help. I don't scan images of people, or landscapes, I take scanners out into the world, and scan the people and things I encounter.  I began by using an epson 4870, but it tends to get quite heavy after a while.  I experimented with several different scanners, and am now using an epson v100.  it is light and durable, and best of all, cheap.  Until recently, I was charging the scanner with large 12 volt batteries and an inverter.  However, I now simply wire the scanner directly to an overcharged 12volt.  The scanner seems to handle it, and when I'm out in the world, the fewer contraptions the better.

Although I am not certain of the exact reason, it seems that objects at rest with respect to the scanner are a blur, while objects that are in motion have recognizable forms.  The first example  is an image of cars.  I held the scanner still while the cars drove by.  As you can see, the background is a blur, but the image of each car is clear and distinct.  A little photoshop is required, of course, but not much. The Second example is of houses. For this image, I mounted the scanner upright to my car and drove slowly by these San Francisco houses at approximately 10 miles per hour. (I have done this at up to 75 miles per hour, but it gets a bit repetitive and boring.

So, there it is.  No photographs at all, just a scanner, a battery, a laptop and the world.

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© 2009, Thomas McDonnell
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