[filmscanners] Re: Scanning a foggy image

["Anthony Atkielski" <anthony@atkielski.com>]

Brian writes:

> However, when I scan it (Nikon Coolscan 4000)
> using ViewScan, the scanner/software seems to
> interpret the fog as noise(??) and produces a
> scan with more clarity than the original image has.

That cannot happen.  The scanner can't produce a scan that contains more
detail or clarity than the original image.  At best, it could capture
everything on the negative or slide, but in practice no scanner is perfect
and so it will not manage even that much.

If the scan looks very clear, then the original image must have been at
least equally clear.  Are you sure the fogginess isn't there, even when you
examine the entire image on the screen of your monitor (and not just a
close-up examination)?

Another possibility is that the fog was never there to begin with, and you
are seeing some artifact produced by the lab in creating your reference
print.

It's unlikely that the scan software would interpret fog as noise.  It's
possible that some software at some point in the loop is boosting contrast
or something and that this is making the fog harder to see; that would not
be the scanner but would be the software you are using.  VueScan does not do
this, I don't think (but it has been a while since I last used it).

> My question is, how do you scan slides or negatives
> which are somewhat soft with fog or mist and retain
> the look of the original scene?

A straight scan will always retain this look, if it was actually there in
the original scene.  If it is disappearing, either your scan software or
something else in the chain is tweaking the image in a way that makes the
fog harder to see (if any of your software is doing any kind of automatic
optimization of the image, for example, it might think that fog = low
contrast, and it may be boosting contrast).

> Failing a scanning solution, is there a tweak I
> can do in Photoshop to get the appearance back?

You can simulate fog, but the effect would not be nearly as nice as the
original.

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