The Scanning Project-3: Editing: Color Slides

While you might think the first thing to do is run out and buy a good scanner (I’ll go over different types of scanners and their benefits in a future posting) the most time-consuming and crucial part of the process is figuring out what you want to scan.

There's no question that some types of slide film hold their color and density better than others. This scanned Kodachrome, shot in 1992, still retains all the tone and color from the day it was processed. Photo copyright George Schaub

 The benefit of starting with past work is that you have had time to “digest” whether that work still holds meaning for you. This helps in the editing process as hopefully you have become more discerning in terms of image quality as well as considerations of what image content stands the test of time. In some cases, for those who shot film way back, the physical condition of certain types of film will play a big role in this process.

As to what images to choose that is a very personal matter and I will not make any suggestions here. All I can say is that if you have dupes or similars of a particular shot do take some time to pick the best of the lot. This might seem like it goes without saying, but editing means making choices, and getting involved with scanning means that you will be making decisions about picking the best of perhaps four or five shots of a particular scene. Just plant your flag and go for it!

Color Slides

The first step is to think about, and choose, slides that will yield good scans. As you work you will learn what might work, what will require extra effort to get right, and what slides are just not going to turn out right. You can fight city hall to an extent, thanks to software, but there are simply some slides that will not work out. You can try a few poor quality slides to see how far you can take them, especially if they are of precious moments or memories, but don’t expect much from them except having a record and a snapshot of them in their current condition.

Here's a scanned Ektachrome exposed and processed in 1994. The original was color rich and had textural whites, even in the bright clouds in the sky. While there is certainly some diminution of the color, the biggest problem, and that which will dash any hopes of getting a good print from the full frame, is the loss of density in the brighter areas of the clouds. Note the burnout of the cloud edge above the beer mug. This cannot be properly burned in and although very experienced software users might be able to get some texture back, overall it might just not be worth the time required to get it right. Photo copyright George Schaub

Of course, one option is to crop out the offending area. That's what I did here, but by doing so I got pretty much right to the edge of acceptable sharpness, and would opt to make this a considerably smaller print than I might otherwise like. I also cloned some of the blue into the upper right edge to get rid of some burned out sky. Knowing what you can and cannot accomplish and making edits accordingly will save you time and perhaps wasted efforts later.

One of the worst kept secrets in photography is the poor keeping qualities of certain types of slide film. A good read is Henry Wilhelm’s “The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs” (http://www.wilhelm-research.com) in which he rightfully chastises certain manufacturers for the poor keeping qualities of products that promised to be “the memory keepers.”

Even with optimal storage conditions, many types of transparency film will, by their very nature, begin to deteriorate way before one would anticipate, or hope. If you have not looked at your old slides of a certain breed for many years you might be shocked at what you discover—color shifts (mainly towards magenta), surface deterioration and density loss (blacks becoming mottled, whites and highlights blanking out). This is nothing new. Commercial photographers found this out many years ago when trying to salvage their E-3 processed Ektachromes.

Luckily, some of this loss can be ameliorated by software, but when highlights are gone in positive film there’s no bringing them back. In my experience this is a common occurrence with most slide films of a certain vintage, although Kodachromes, due to their unique construction and processing, do best in this regard. Other Kodak produced films turned out to be real dogs, including higher speed Ektachromes and especially older Ektachromes, even those with E-6 processing. Labels like Anscochrome and Agfachrome can be abysmal in their keeping qualities.

Here's an Agfachrome exposed and processed in 1990. The shift to magenta is apparent, and there has been considerable density loss. In most instances, scanning and trying to get something decent out of such slides might be a waste of time, although I certainly do not discourage your trying: that's how you'll learn about what should be edited in and out of your scan collection. Copyright George Schaub

One option of course is converting to black and white, which in one step removes the curse of the color shift and allows you more control over density and tonality. This is a good strategy for precious photos of family and friends.

 The proper storage for older film materials is not in the realm of this discussion, and again Wilhelm is a prime source on this matter, but common sense methods include storage in low humidity and low heat conditions, using so-called archival storage materials, and limiting exposure to light. (One interesting sidebar is that while Kodachromes generally stood the test of time much better than other materials, if you regularly projected Kodachromes you have substantially cut down on their life expectancy. That’s why slide trays of experienced presenters contained not original Kodachromes but dupes.)

Note the retained textural whites in the flag bunting in this scanned Kodachrome from 1984. Slides like this are easy to scan and yield excellent prints. When you edit, batch images with these characteristics for a productive and rewarding scanning session. Start with these so you can get some positive reinforcement about what scanning can do. Likewise, batch the problem slides and those with similar flaws together so you can develop a workflow plan that will aid in their recovery.

Photo copyright George Schaub

In any case, one of the first considerations of editing might be to choose and salvage as best you can those slides that are starting to go over the edge. They will be apparent to you as you edit your materials. Keep in mind that some may be irredeemable, but if the image is important to you, such as childhood photos of your now grown children, also keep in mind that you can always ignore the color shifts by converting the image to black and white or even rescue some of the “natural” color via processing. As to density loss (highlights gone blank) there’s nothing much you can do about that, although judicious cropping and some software work can help salvage something from your most precious shots.

Finally, batch your edits by film type as best you can, as you may be working with film “profiles” with certain types of scanner software as a way to get a ballpark read on the proper values for each type of material. This is especially true when scanning Kodachromes versus other types of slide films. In general, Kodachromes are usually “warmer” than other types, and their color layers are quite distinct in character. This segregation by type might be difficult if you have generic (non-brand labeled) mounts, but do the best you can.

Next posting: Editing, Black and White