Where is this?

Would like to know what type of scanner was used to digitize this Glass Lantern Slide? I have over 3,000+ glass slides from a family-run travel agency (Lundy Travel Bureau, San Francisco, California) in which I am in the process of digitizing. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Tim Hughes

Hi Tim. I used an Epson Perfection 2450 Photo scanner for the reflective and transmissive scans. Scan resolution was 600 pixels/inch, which was more than adequate to capture the detail in this image.

I made both scans without moving the slide on the scanner, and brought the two versions into Photoshop as separate layers in correct register. I put the transmissive scan layer on top, and erased the outer part of that image (the slide mount, mask, etc). In the resulting composite image you see the old photographic image lit from behind, framed by the slide mount lit from the front. It's an 'unreal' image, but it shows both aspects of the artefact at the same time.

I used a similar method for the first image on this post about Kodachrome, because the detail on the slide mount is just as important as the image it frames.

This method is rather slow. I don't think I would want to do it for every one of 3,000 slides!

Peter, thank you so much for your response. I had read it many months ago, but I found myself back again, as I have purchased the Epson Perfection V750 Pro. Haven't started yet, but wanted to express my many thanks.