An exploratory series

Scanogram

Haecceitas (noun); Latin for thisness.

This series is a celebration of the characteristics and subtle qualities that make something uniquely its own. It stretches the imagination by playfully interpreting scale to create dramatic landscapes and evocative portraits.

Each image is captured using an Epson Perfection V600 film scanner. Objects are placed face-down on the scanning bed and as the sensor moves across the image plane, a highly detailed photograph is rendered.

Scan the image below, what do you notice?

Can you spot the teeniest of tiniest of little leaves? Look close.

Tap for a hint…

Large Format Quality

The mushroom cluster below is just about the size of my palm, yet it’s captured in stunning detail — making it feel larger than life. The scanner’s image plane spans 8.5”w x 11”h, making the output similar to that of a large format camera. Images are captured at 3200dpi and take around twenty minutes to complete.

With this process, even the smallest objects can play a mighty role, like in this botanical portrait.

Combining Interesting Colors & Textures

Arrangements are carefully woven together by selecting botanicals based on their color, texture, and size to create dynamic landscapes.

Going with the Flow

Arrangements are created face-up and are then flipped over and laid onto glass for scanning. Petals, leaves, and other bits of botanicals fall naturally, adding delight and surprise. When working with water, I often get only one chance to get it right.

Razor-thin Focus

The scanner itself has an extremely thin focus area and so stacking objects creates depth and dimension, just like with traditional photography. The image below is blown up in scale to showcase the immense detail and razor-thin focus of the scanner. You’ll notice it’s the top left section of the image above.

Extreme Detail

This is still only a fraction of the size of the original scan, about 30% to be precise.

Mixed dried and fresh botanical arrangement featuring leaves, flowers, and seed pods. Captured using scanography.
Fresh kale leaves placed on an Epson V600 flatbed film scanner on a table.

Process

Elaborate arrangements typically take a few hours to fully document from start to finish. Once an image has been scanned, the editing process begins. Each image undergoes a precise and rigorous editing workflow to adjust exposure, color, and intentionally remove dust and other particles.

Other select images below

A vibrant underwater scene featuring a colorful variety of flowers and plants, including proteas, purple and white blossoms, green seed pods, and mushrooms, all set against a dark background with bubbles floating around. Captured using scanography.
Group of various mushrooms growing on a piece of wood, surrounded by green plants and ferns. Captured using scanography.
A collection of various mushrooms, blue thistles, red lantern plant, and green foliage submerged in water with bubbles. Captured using scanography.
Arrangement of colorful flowers including purple, red, pink, and green plants with water droplets on some leaves and petals. Captured using scanography.
Arrangement of various colorful flowers and green foliage underwater with bubbles. Captured using scanography.
Underwater scene with purple and white flowers, green foliage, mushrooms, and bubbles. Captured using scanography.
Close-up of a vivid, colorful assortment of flowering plants, including purple, green, red, and white flowers, with green seed pods and lush foliage. Captured using scanography.
A diverse arrangement of flowers and greens submerged underwater, with bubbles rising to the surface. Captured using scanography.

See more of my scanography work

This is an ongoing series, please stop back to see more! In the meantime, check out the link below to see more of my work.

Learn more