Is Dehancer The Answer
It's funny how events unfold sometimes. Take this blog as an example, I've noticed how several photographers have been trying to capture the golden days of film with their digital work, using software, filters, and retro cameras. Then by chance when I’m in the middle of producing a few videos on how I am trying to photograph like it’s 1973 an email from the good folks at Dehancer lands in my inbox asking me if I would care to mention their products in a blog post. The timing could not have been better.
With a product name like Dehancer, you would be right to think the software is about degrading your images. In a way you are right, when I transitioned from 35mm film to digital in the mid-90s the tables were the other way around, film was superior. However, somewhere in the drive to improve digital photography some of the soul has been stripped out, producing images of extreme detail and low noise. Pixel peeping and the constant quest for finer detail meant digital photographs surpassed film quality many years ago.
Digital sensors and modern processing software have reached levels of precision and excellence. Many photographers, both new and veterans like myself, feel that as a result, some of the soul has been stripped out of photography. The advance of AI is accelerating the advance of the “perfect image” but maybe technology like Dehancer could also be the answer. Dehancer tries to find the sweet spot where the modern convenience of digital photography can coexist with the quaint and delightful feeling of an old darkroom print.
It’s not only in photography that we see this desire to embrace retro things. Clothing, furniture, the warmth crackle and depth from a vinyl record need to be heard to be understood. Cameras with retro styling and simple-to-use dials glance back to a simpler world, a world that feels warmer, softer and gentler - maybe I’m just getting old.
What I want to know is does Dehancer have the answer?
To be honest I wanted Dehancer to fail. What I can say is that if you rush all in and go crazy with the sliders and presets expecting some epiphanic moment you won’t get it. But I was pleasantly surprised.
Out of the box (is that even a thing with a downloaded product), using the quick reference guides with the software made installation easy. (It is important to follow all the steps) In minutes I was able to fire up Lightroom and have images exported and being processed in Dehancer.
Colour Spaces
Now I have a little gripe. Dehancer goes into a fair amount of detail about how you should set up your colour spaces to get the best results, now I find this to be a bit of a pain. I like my set-up exactly as it is, I guess if you adopted Dehancer as part of every workflow it would make sense. Dehancer imports raw files and exports Tiffs. For me that isn't ideal. I am a bit of a raw file addict, and would like to continue my edits in raw after the images have been through Dehancer. So, you may need to adopt a new workflow, for now, this is what I’m doing.
The Dehancer set-up asks you to change to the sRGB colour space. For now, I'm going to leave my colour spaces alone, but in the future I might find a way of switching quickly between alternative colour setups. Dehancer has said it's an issue they are working on, and I certainly look forward to them completing this improvement.
“For now I have adapted my workflow and just accept that its raw in and a Tiff file out completing all of my edits in Lightroom before the Dehancer magic happens
Dehancer is easy to use, but some of the terms may not be familiar - halation, film compression, push/pull, print head. If you’ve never worked in a wet darkroom the terms will certainly be a little confusing.
The menus, however, are easy to operate and navigate, and once you spend a little time learning the terminology you will be flying along. In fact, considering how powerful the software is, the sliders and menu’s are very simple.
It's been a long time since I have used film. Over time tastes change, and for me, some of the effects seemed a little strong. Halation seemed a little overpowering using the 35mm selection options using 65mm calmed things down a little.
Dehancer is about embracing these imperfections, rolling back the digital years to create a less sterile look. However, I can also remember working studiously in the darkroom to reduce as many of these issues as possible - ironic!
Film grain is added in a beautiful way rather than a simple overlay of uniform grey micro speckles. Dehancer applies a complex and seemingly random mosaic of colour.
Notice how “With Halation” has a red glow around the branches (top left of the photograph)
My first experience with Dehancer has been good, and my impressions are positive. It's also been a learning experience and a chance to reflect on whether I want to return to using real film. Or is it possible that after all this time, we are more in love with the idea of film than the reality of it? Possibly what we are seeking is a return to simpler more honest photography in a world of digital escapism and questionable truths. How and if Dehancer becomes part of my regular workflow is yet to be seen. Dehancer does indeed add the look of film to digitally produced sterile images. But already I have dialled back the effect a little to make things cleaner, and a little more digital! But this isn’t the end of the story, it is the beginning of much more experimentation to understand the software and how it could enhance the work I currently produce.
What I do know is it's a powerful tool. Whether you are a veteran of the film era, a new adopter of film, or a dedicated digital-only photographer looking for that film feel, you should try it.
The team at Dehancer would be delighted if you used this link to make a purchase or access the free trial @ BRIAN 10% Discount
Please use my offer “BRIAN” at checkout for a 10% discount
(nb. this is an affiliate link which costs you nothing, but keeps me making photographs and content, so it means a lot me - thankyou )