Copying old B&W prints

[David R. Gurtcheff]

I have some irreplacable B&W photos that are mounted and hand colored with oils that date back to the mid 1930s. They are about 11"x14", some a bit smaller, but all mounted, so will not fit in my flat bed scanner. I thought I could copy them using a 1Ds MkII and 100mm Canon macro lens. Mirror lock up and sturdy tripod. Has anyone tried this method of copying and making high quality reprints? The reprints will be loaned to a museum, so quality is foremost.
Thanks in advance.  
Dave

[Anon E. Mouse]

A flat-bed scanner will give better results. Can't you scan half at a time and combine them in Photoshop?

[Robert Spoecker]

Hi David

I have a friend (a professional photographer) and he kind of specializes in what you are doing. He uses 2 studio flashes with about 12 X 12 inch polarizing filters in front of them. He sets them to horizontal polarization (as indicated on the cardboard frames) and then puts another polarizer in front of his lens and sets it to vertical polarization as indicated my minimum flare. This seems to be the only way to get rid of all the glare you will encounter. I have helped him in a shoot he did this and I shot DSLR while he shot 4 X 5 film and it does work very well.

You asked for a soloution, not a cheap soloution lol.

Robert

[David R. Gurtcheff]

Hi David

I have a friend (a professional photographer) and he kind of specializes in what you are doing. He uses 2 studio flashes with about 12 X 12 inch polarizing filters in front of them. He sets them to horizontal polarization (as indicated on the cardboard frames) and then puts another polarizer in front of his lens and sets it to vertical polarization as indicated my minimum flare. This seems to be the only way to get rid of all the glare you will encounter. I have helped him in a shoot he did this and I shot DSLR while he shot 4 X 5 film and it does work very well.

You asked for a soloution, not a cheap soloution lol.

Robert
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Thanks Guys. I'll let you know how I make out

[David R. Gurtcheff]

Thanks Guys. I'll let you know how I make out
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Well I took two of the frames apart, and took off the double over mat. The prints are actually 8"x10" mounted to 12"x15" mats. I was able to fit the mat and print into my Epson flat bed scanner. Beacuse of the mat thickness, the actual print was not in contact with the glass. To my amazement, the copies are in sharp focus. Even more amazing, was that I used Kodak's Digital ROC Photoshop plug-in, and it did a beautiful job of restoring color. The sky and water again showed blue, etc. I did bump up the saturation a bit in Photoshop. But the originals were made in the mid 1930's and had started to become "sepia". The ROC fixed it. I am thrilled with the results, as they are family heirlooms, and the negatives are long ago lost.
Thanks
Dave