This small enthusiastic contingent of artists are actively using a flatbed scanner as an alternative to a camera to record visual images. The results can be appreciated in their own right or fused with digital design, painting and even video. The techniques of each artist vary greatly but almost all are pushing the technology in multiple unconventional ways.
One artist -whose name I cannot remember- adapted a flatbed scanner by removing the hinged cover door, attaching it to a laptop with external hard drive, powered it all with a portable battery, and carried the contraption around scanning his surroundings. His blurred elongated scans of plants and walls captured as he walked along were really interesting and different. I loved them!
If any of this is of interest to you, be warned. Before you take a screwdriver to your scanner, you may risk its future functionality and performance. That said, you could buy an old scanner on Gumtree or eBay.
Good luck.
