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We are often playing with new projects, trying something new, or want to share an experience - if we do, you'll find it here!
Due to an overly large inventory of Latent image slides, we have drastically reduced prices to move out the old, to make room for the new! Visit the store to see our heavily slashed prices on nearly all of our "Latent Image" original 35mm slides! Sale has already started and will continue to April 1st! Get them while you can...
SALE EXTENDED TO MAY 1ST - GET THEM BEFORE THEY ARE PULLED FROM INVENTORY!
We are so exceptionally sorry for the postponement in shipping some canvas prints due to the delays in receiving our COA serial number labels. But they are here now and being applied to all current and further limited edition prints and canvas art! For those of you already with prints, your new COA and SN labels are being shipped tomorrow (March 6). Upon receipt, simply affix the white barcode label to the back of your print - your new COA and SN have already been logged and recorded! Thanks very much for your patience. And more great news... a new set of canvas art is ready! See below...
Our new and completely original canvas art prints are again rolling off the printer! Our second set of three - janine Lindemulder, Teri Weigel and Jenna Hae are here! Unlike last run, these are fully prepared with official COA and recorded SN's. These too will be a simple run of only 5 prints each. Each for sale in our store beginning March 6! Each one printed on 100% real cotton canvas demonstrating excellent color, durability and overall quality. Only available through TVS Imagewerks. Due to costs of printing, and availability of canvas, these prints will be extremely limited to five 8"x10"copies each. Canvas prints will be available for $36.99.
Only 5 each available! Our next batch of 3 will be available April / May.
Some, absolutely despise the thought of spending money on a promo slide, and for obvious reasons. Promo slides are of usually very poor quality, lack any usable resolution, poor color attributes and are typically well out of focus with very little detail even available. Promo slides were produced in usually large numbers and are essentially a copy of a copy of a copy. These were typically produced to distribute to newspapers, magazines and such to advertise for upcoming events, films or personalities. I, however, find promo slides to sometimes be gems of a collection. Some are quite hard to find, and although trash in quality, some have become quite desirable! After all, most of these promo slides never got returned to the originator, were mishandled, destroyed or just plain lost. So before abandoning the thought of promo slides, you might want to consider where they've been and how they have managed to stay on intact over the course of decades - might be worth more than you think.
Original Warner Bros. promo slide from 1994. Picked up on eBay for (what I think is reasonable cost). Representing Bo Derek and the movie "10". Slide is in great condition, and original, but as with most "promo" slides, is of horrible, grainy, no detail imagery, intended for nothing more than small newspaper/ advertisement type productions where detail wasn't required.
The lack of detail is very apparent when completing the first scan. Regardless of scanning resolutions, it's very difficult to pull any detail from the slide. Attempting to do so, is going to amplify the heavy grain of the film and render any edges noisy and simply awful.
Played around in photoshop for a while, defining the eyes a bit, adding a bit of color and adjusting the contract of some details. Lost some of the background color, but certainly helps to put a little more focus on the subject. Worthy of a print? Certainly not - but still a cool piece of photo / movie history to have in anyone's collection!
So I received this slide from a client for a scan and retouch. Was too much retouching needed on this "Sandee Westgate" slide for them to take on, so they sent it to me. Retouching can be time consuming and expensive. But before you decide you need to send it off to have it worked on or spend hours upon hours retouching, give it a quick cleaning and check your results again. It's ok to clean a slide. So rather than charge him for a retouch, I am simply sending it back cleaned and ready to scan again. To help out a bit more, I thought maybe I could share here, the process I use to clean a slide before scanning.
As you can see in the above sample, the scan on the left is without cleaning, where the scan on the right is no different other than cleaning the film prior to scanning! No scratch and dust or IR have been applied to either scan! Big difference - which would you rather spend time touching up?
There are two sides to a slide, or any film for that matter... the emulsion side (usually a softer, matte or dull appearance), and the base (which is generally very shiny and reflective). Emulsion side is much softer, much more sensitive and susceptible to damage than the base. The emulsion side, as it contains the "basic data" and various color layers of the image, is pretty important to take care of, and keep clean. However, slides, depending on their previous care and age, can and usually will, develop all kinds of dust embedment, molds, dirt and grease accumulation. Good news is, this can be cleaned - bad news is, most of this unwanted debris is going to be stuck on the emulsion side.
So, before we go any further or get into a debate on "how to" or "why", or "when", let me just express: the following suggestions are just that. Suggestions. Just an example of how "I" clean my slides and what works for "me". Probably dozens of ways to do it... but this works for me.
I use Isopropyl Alcohol at no less than 90% pure. Emulsion DOES NOT like to be wet - water, cleaners, soaps - all will be absorbed into the emulsion, make it sticky, make it soft and more than likely ruin your slide beyond saving! The Iso Alcohol does not get absorbed and evaporates very quickly, leaving the emulsion dry and relatively happy. I combine the alcohol with "K&F Concept Cleaning Swabs". The 24mm size seems to fit the slide best. Pour some alcohol on a clean swab and literally gently wipe down both sides of the slides. The alcohol will remove lots of stuff, fingerprints (dust magnets), grease, dust, mold, particulates, etc., etc. A few good swipes will yield pretty good results.
After the wipe down and a few good seconds to dry completely, I use a high-power blower and brush. This will remove any debris which may be left behind, not picked up by the swab. I invested in the "Nitecore BB21 Blower" and it has been an absolute dream! Also invested in the lens brush attachment and it has done a great job and never once scratched a slide! Not cheap, but dependable, powerful and clean!
Then, lastly, I do a couple gentle swipes over both sides of the slide with a "Kinetronics StaticWisk" brush. This basically discharges any static in the slide which the cleaning process may have developed. As we all know, static attracts dust - this brush prevents that from happening. After that - it's into the scanner, and whalla...! A clean scan!
More often than not, using this little 1 minute process prior to scanning, will more than likely save you hours of retouching and corrections later. As we can see in the example above - it certainly does have merit and demonstrates good results. It works well for me - hope it works well for you...
Our new and completely original canvas art prints are beginning to roll off the printer! Our first three, Veronika Zemanova, Lisa Toothman and Julie K Smith will be available for purchase soon! These are the very first of their kind and are graphically edited art prints based on popular images from various photographers. Each one printed on 100% real cotton canvas demonstrating excellent color, durability and overall quality. Only available through TVS Imagewerks. Due to costs of printing, and availability of canvas, these prints will be extremely limited to five 8"x10"copies each. Canvas prints will be available for $36.99 in TVS Imagewerks store beginning February 19th.
Only 5 each available! Our next batch of 3 will be Janine Lindemulder, Teri Weigel and Jenna Haze - available March/April.
An exceptionally rare 35mm French slide from the musical series "Folies En Fetes". Roughly produced in the mid 1950's and featuring the once famous, and Playboy Playmate Yvonne Menard! The original slide scanned and color restored to what would have been the glamourous dazzle of 1953!
This is the original hardcopy print of Roni Stevens taken on May 8, 1971 in Sydney, Australia by UPI Telephoto. I've had the recent pleasure of scanning the original photo print (left), digitally restoring it, and reprinting it (right) with today's modern technology. Difficult to see the differences in quality in side-by-side comparison - until you are presented with the true details!
Years ago, a print was a print - what you had, was what you got. Still amazes me the amount of details that can either be pulled from, or implanted in, to an image. In such case, the clarity in the face, strands of hair and those pearly whites! Looks great considering the original photo is currently 50+ years old!
Another restoration of an older Kodachrome slide. This was particularly challenging with the various shades and fades throughout. I was able to keep the details such as the hair on the arms and yet bring out the sections of the shear mesh of her underwear - came out really well. The first print (13x19) will be made this week, and if all good, offered for sale shortly there-after. Only downside.... have no idea who she is! Any idea?
Want your own slide restored and/or printed? Contact me for details and get a quote!
I own and use quite a few scanners - this one, from PIE, will not remain in my inventory as it is thankfully being accepted for return to B&H. Thanks B&H!
It is not, however, being returned due to any defect or damage but being returned because (in my eyes) it has completely failed to meet its advertised criteria. Could be a sticky issue as I don't believe this particular scanner meets, or even could meet, its advertised abilities. Couple issues going on here that potential buyers need to be aware of before committing to spend hard earned dollars in hopes of achieving crystal clear images from this scanner: Here are my top selling points - or in this case, top reasons to reconsider your purchase.
NOISY:
Absolutely the noisiest scanner I have ever turned on. Much noisier than any flatbed scanner and even noisier than the printers running in the background. I was seriously concerned when scanning my first slide - just didn't sound right, and certainly didn't sound like a higher end film scanner should sound. No, it didn't appear to have any adverse effect on scanning but creating what sounds like heavy friction and the definite vibrations caused by such, would surely make one (at least me) wonder about the longevity of such a scanner. Typically, sensitive electronics, alignments and CCD's would seem to require a smoother operation - apparently not the case with the PIE XA Plus. Yes, it will wake sleeping babies!
SOFTWARE:
The included drivers and software are a complete failure. Even more so when you must try and "find" the download link via internet. I realize we're all trying to save a buck or two, but would it be so difficult to supply your customers with a simple installation file? Maybe I'm just too "old school" but acquiring the online materials to get the scanner working, was simply more difficult than it was worth. Once you can pull out the magnifying glass and read the print of the "start guide", find your software online, install and run it - you are left with very little control over your scanner. The CyberView software feels and looks like something from early online photo programs, cheap, not very well thought out, and quite simply, inadequate for a scanner. Very little control over the final images rendered though the software. You will absolutely need VueScan or Silverfast (in the works) to effectively use this scanner! I'd love to dump the CyberView all together - BUT WAIT - you can't! More on that shortly. You’re at the mercy of the software for image corrections – preview windows and such during color adjustments are way too small to utilize with any accuracy. Many adjustment options are rendered useless due to “correction adjustments” represented by merely a user selection of “high”, “med” or “low, not allowing you to make any precise adjustments. For all the “marketing hype” this scanner gets, you’d think you’d have the ability to better utilize it’s functions. The one function the CyberView software is good for and the final complaint I have with this scanner.
RESOLUTION:
It’s NOT a 10000dpi scanner! That’s right, it’s realistically a 5000dpi scanner! The only way to achieve a 10000dpi image is by using the CyberView software to “interpolate” resolutions to above 5000dpi! The only reason I found this out was use of the Vuescan software and noticing it didn’t allow me an option to scan at 10000dpi – only 5000dpi. So when I questioned PIE about this predicament, It was confirmed by PIE: “Yes the 10,000 dpi is achieved via motor 1/2 stepping and software interpolation, it scans a line and interpolates a line at resolutions above 5,000 dpi.” So, in reality, they are presenting a 5000dpi scanner and cheating their way into advertising the 10000dpi resolution! Shame on PIE! As we all know, we can add as many “interpolations” as we like, heck we can use photoshop to “create” a million dpi image, but doing such doesn’t create any better image, doesn’t increase sharpness or detail, merely changes numbers. Rather than the “10000dpi resolution” advertised on the highlights, it should much rather read “capable of 10000dpi resolution through use of software interpolation”! This is where marketing strategies seem to skirt the lines and maybe cross over into the realm of “misrepresentation”? You be the judge…
Needless to say, I will stick with the resolution and benefits associated with using my 8200i. If you can afford to buy this PrimeFilm XA Plus, then you can afford an 8200i by Plustek! That’s not only my personal recommendation, it makes the most sense... Happy scanning….
Photos taken by Sam Maxwell in 1996 - if you can identify her, please let me know.
Photos taken by Sam Maxwell in 1996 - if you can identify her, please let me know.
Photos taken by Sam Maxwell in 1996 - if you can identify her, please let me know.
All right everyone...I understand, but... So, yea, when you see one of the iconic 1978 Farrah Faucet Playboy Cover images up for sale, even if it is a "promo" slide, it raises your eyebrow and grabs some attention - problem is, the forgers and copiers/duplicators out there know it! Color looks good, contrast is good, layout looks right, etc... But be very weary of deals "to good to be real"! At $25, might be worth it...? Most recent found on eBay...
THE eBay LISTING:
EXTREMELY RARE COLLECTORS ITEM, OUTSTANDING RARE HOT PORTRAITS SEE PHOTOS...
Important notice: All the photos here are blurred in order to avoid copies. All the slides are MINT.
This collectors item is being sold from one collector to another, no rights are given or implied and now is your chance to have it!!
only for serious collectors.
MADE ONLY FROM PROMO REASONS AND CAME FROM MY PERSONAL COLLECTIONS. I DID NOT HAVE ANY RIGHTS TO SELL ABOUT IT ALL SLIDES ARE PROMO ITEMS FROM THE PUBLIC RELATIONS OF THEIR COMPANIES...
DON'T MISS IT!
A MUST for every fan...
Chances are, the image is not "blurred" to avoid copies - it is "blurred" to more than likely keep potential buyers from seeing the actual quality (or lack thereof) in the slide or neg itself. Any reputable seller of photographic images of any type are going to show you their quality - after all it's quality they want to sell, and it's quality you want!
And now upon receipt, you can begin to see how the color is wrong, white balance wrong, mid tones and contrast all washed out and even improper alignments and exposure defects left behind from what we can safely now call "the duplicator machine"! The complete lack of exposure near her head and hand is not evident in the listing photo above, so it is safe to determine this in not the slide shown in the listing, but a copy of. The "blackness", obviously an error in the copy process, simply uncaught by the duplicator. And it's horrible copy at that! Even the "Original Promo" stamp is much too clean to be 50 years old!
We can safely say from just this image, this is an exceptionally poor copy, of a copy, of a copy - even for promo slide standards! This slide is suitable for absolutely nothing - so yes, an obvious scam and out right illegal - certainly not the "must have" as advertised! No way a reputable photographer or promoter would allow such trash quality to be presented to the world!
But, if still in doubt... take a look at the scan of the image at 1800 dpi... Good grief, there is no fixing that!
Probably the worst resolution I have ever put through my machine and is certainly useless for any worthy addition into your photo/slide collection! Not worth 25 cents, much less 25 dollars! Though the seller quickly refunded any payment, he continues to sell similar "Got to have it / MINT slides" on eBay.
There are plenty of reputable seller across the internet, including many on ebay! So, keep your eye on them and let the questionable sellers, or the "grab it while you can" sales pitches pass you by - don't doubt your initial opinions, they are most likely correct! Just my 2 cents... buyers beware!
THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN "FAKE" OR "REPRODUCTION" slides...
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