Digital BW, The Print

Thanks, Stan.
The very fact that you encountered quite the same reflective phenomena
as I did, is rather, perhaps surprising as it may sound, comforting. 
Particularly with the resources and expertise you have at your beck
and call.
If the eye of the Newt will not do it?. my hoof of the toad is not
likely to.
There may be someone amongst us who has an extra incantational element
that might succeed, and thus I will wait.
The print is an 8X10. I do not have a 4x5 camera handy, but even a
35mm has some hope, with digital enhancement after negative scanning. 
Then there is the later digital painting prospect, but the white
translucence covers a variety of BW shades and clothing detail. 
Gratefully awaiting further response.
JFJ
(I modify from the Jerry moniker in deference to the esteemed Jerry Olsen)

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Shire,Stanley"
<sshire@c...> wrote:
> Jerry:
> I had one of my students (from Bosnia) bring some old family photographs
> which had the same phenomenon. After trying all manner of incantations,
> scanning with the reflective holder on an Imacon 848, eye of newt, etc,
> we went back to old tech. Put the print on a copy stand with polarized
> lights, shot a 4x5 transparency and scanned that. Lovely result. I'm
> sure you didn't want to hear this but perhaps someone else on the list
> has a better solution (I'd love to hear it)
>  
>  
> 
> Stan Shire
> Associate Professor/Department Chair
> Photographic Imaging
> Community College of Philadelphia
> Adobe Photoshop 6 A.C.E.
> Author: Hands On Photoshop 7: Tutorial Workshops
> 
> 215 751-8320
> sshire@c...
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: jerry78008 <photo29@p...> [mailto:photo29@p...] 
> Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2002 8:53 PM
> To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [Digital BW] Unusual BW scanning phenomena. Viewpoints
> solicited...
> 
> 
> 
> I post this to this list as you are the most elite like I am aware of
> in these matters. Almost all of the scanning I do is with a film
> scanner, but the rare instance of some treasured family photos that
> are over 50 years old are now briefly with me for flatbed scanning.
> 
> I am using a good quality Epson Expression 636 flatbed, with VueScan
> and alternately the Epson 3.42a TWAIN directly into PS 7. In Vuescan
> 24bit and 48 bit color and 24 bit and 48 bit B&W. Likewise TWAIN into
> PS 7. Overkill, I know, but I am trying everything so as not to have
> to hand color at the outset.
> 
> Regardless of what I do, to this point, I get a white translucent
> covering to the scanned digital file, over some of the image. Perhaps
> 70% of the image. This over the portions of black that seem to have
> been ?hand painted? on the original photo paper.
> 
> I note the actual BW photo, which was apparently HAND
> enhanced/?painted?, by, I am told, a WWII European refugee who set up
> a photo studio and did the enhancements in an old world manner of
> which I am not familiar.
> 
> The likely enhancements/paint portions, when viewing the BW photo on
> an angle, show a different (shiny) reflective capacity to the
> remainder of the photo, and this is what I have the impression is
> causing the white-ish equivalent of dried soapy white translucence in
> the digital scan file preview and image.
> 
> Before I give up and start attempting to hand color in Photoshop, I am
> posting this in case one or more of you wise experts knows of a way to
> mitigate or eliminate the presumed reflective anomaly, which is
> causing the white translucence over the part of the photo that were
> hand tinted with a perhaps silvery paint, of which I am seeing in the
> digital scan file.
> 
> I wish to be able to do the scan and have the BW (or color file) end
> up without the translucence and the blacks be ? on the digital file ?
> black.
> 
> Thanks, I look forward to any responses.
> 
> J. F.  Johnson