Shaping Light

I’ve been reading Les Meehan’s book “Digital Image Making: A Complete Visual Guide for Photographers,” expecting it to be mostly about photography per se, and yet many sections are devoted to scanning techniques. In the back of my mind, I always knew that you could scan almost anything, but in the past I’ve mostly worked with old photos, slides, and my kid’s various paintings and collages.

 

Meehan inspired me to experiment with other types of images. One afternoon I tried scanning my hands, at first in static poses, and then moving my fingers in various patterns as the scan head slid along the glass plate. I’ve never actually worked with a potter’s wheel, but as I swirled my fingers along the moving bar of light, that’s the kind of tactile sensations that came to mind: dipping one’s fingers in and shaping light.

 

I also pondered the question of whether this is photography. Digital imaging, yes – but “photography?” Does one have to be using a camera to be doing photography? What’s a “camera” anyway? Literally, it’s a device for recording light.

 

Done