Michael Golembewski / RCA Interaction Design
scanner camera: a new type of digital camera
This project has developed a digital camera using inexpensive flat-bed scanner technology, creating new representations of form and movement in images. In doing so, it has pioneered a new approach to digital photography that is an art form in its own right, rather than simply being a more effective way of doing conventional photography.
The first stage of the project modified an off-the-shelf flatbed scanner by reverse-engineering it and modifying its software in order to improve the quality of the captured photographs. Work then began on the camera bodies with the construction of a variety of casings. By working concurrently with both professional and student photographers, the potential of the prototypes was quickly assessed. These simple, early camera designs turned into surprisingly versatile homemade digital cameras that could be produced for under £60, allowing different groups of photographers across the UK to experiment with the emerging concept.
The project then focused on the development of a higher-specification camera package to make it sturdy, durable and simple to use, and an online resource with diagrams to enable people to build their own scanner cameras. These scanner cameras open up new avenues for creative exploration and give us new ways of perceiving the world around us. The motion of the scanner head reacts to the motion of the scene, causing the moving objects in the photograph to twist and distort. A large part of the appeal of the scanner camera is its do-it-yourself nature. The self-help techniques of both 19th century camera pioneers and modern-day pinhole and homemade camera enthusiasts are used to create a new digital tool.
