Unpopular opinion: I think the push for 'perfect' scans is killing the fun of film

Last week I had a great day shooting with my old Pentax K1000 at the city park. I got home, developed the roll of HP5 in my bathroom, and hung it up to dry. The next day, I looked at the negatives on my light table and just loved them. They had a few dust spots and one frame was a bit scratched from loading, but the feeling was there. Then I went online and saw all these posts about $800 scanners and hours of spot removal in Photoshop. It hit me: we're so focused on making film look like digital that we forget why we shoot it. The little flaws are part of the story. I scanned my roll on my basic Epson V600, cleaned up the big stuff, and called it done. The photos are up on my wall and I'm happy. Has anyone else felt pressured to make every scan flawless and just decided to stop?

2 comments

2 Comments

anthonykim3d ago

Yeah, totally. My scanner is older than some of my cameras. Dust and a weird color cast on every roll. I just fix the stuff that looks like a hair is actually on the lens, leave the rest. Feels more real that way.

blairf483d ago

Actually, that color cast might be from the scanner itself, not the film. @anthonykim, you can try scanning a blank piece of paper to see the tint it adds. Cleaning the scanner glass with a proper cloth can really cut down on the dust too, more than you'd think.