leyton.org

Wahay! I’ve finally got my hands on a scanner all of my own. I recently picked up an Epson Photo Perfection 1660, and I’m pleased to report it’s absolutely superb.

After an initial scare that the printer didn’t really integrate very well with Mac OS X, I’m pleased to report it works just fine. In Image Capture you just need to make sure it’s using TWAIN drivers to use the native OS X driver provided by Epson. There you get all the delightful resolution and source settings you’re likely to need. Better still is PhotoImpression - provided with the application, although it’s OS X integration is sadly minimal. Likewise Graphic Converter - bundled on my Mac - doesn’t support multiple negative grabs. So it’s worth experimenting with apps to find the best for you. Whilst there are plenty of Mac Classic mode apps, it just doesn’t do it for me. OS X all the way, baby! So, I’ve been happily scanning in black and white negatives from my recent photographic experiments, and hope to make a few available in due course for more public perusal. Friends can find them here - (login details provided on request). I’ve been pleasantly surprised by my black and white pics, but even more surprised by how well the scans of the negatives come out. You’d be surprised to see how much is trimmed by the development process!

The picture on this article is a scan of a favourite picture of Leigh Cottage, on the Isle of Wight (just to the east of Brook, on the Military Road). This is a wonderful black and white sketch by L. Humphrys of my Grandparents house, made in the late 1980’s. The house is very different now after my Grandparents (Paul and Nancy Leyton) moved away, but this picture never fails to bring back memories of wonderful days spent on holiday there.

My grandfather generated his own electricity: the windmill was the main source of power until a later solar panel was added. The house made for a curious tourist spot (mainly coach tours passing by). Needless to say, balmy summer evenings evenings spent with gas lights and conversation made for a huge difference to tv and a board game as a child.

Anyway, back to the main point: As I get to know the scanner, I hope to get more in the way of pictures and documents up about my grandparents life, as it was certainly not ordinary, and merits some documentation on the internet.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 31st, 2003 at 10:56 pm and is filed under Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.