Does Generative Removal Break the Idea of Shooting Film?
When AI rescues damaged negatives, is film still analog?
Some argue that any digital edit on film scans defeats the point of analog. But I counter: the moment you scan, you enter the digital realm. A lab technician converts and corrects colour and crops using a Frontier or Noritsu scanner. You may get a TIFF or JPEG, but you never see the raw strip in its pure state except when holding the negative.
So, never feel bad for wanting to secretly edit your scans after getting them back from the lab. It doesn't need to be a secret; it's your work, after all.