- Standalone line scan camera hardware: <a href="https://daniel.lawrence.lu/blog/2026-06-12-standalone-cnc-line-scan-camera/" rel="nofollow">https://daniel.lawrence.lu/blog/2026-06-12-standalone-cnc-li...
- Line scan camera image processing 2: <a href="https://daniel.lawrence.lu/blog/2026-08-02-line-scan-camera-image-processing-part-2/" rel="nofollow">https://daniel.lawrence.lu/blog/2026-08-02-line-scan-camera-...
I never thought about it until seeing these, but line scans yield an orthographic projection in the scan direction. There was a little bit of uncanny valley being able to see parts of the front/back of the car that would have normally been compressed out occluded by perspective.
Yarp... Mr. Lu, please go to your nearest gigantic poster shop and immediately start selling these prints at art-gallery prices! There's a brief moment in time where you've a monopoly on "pictures that look like this" and you'd probably be able to make your money back (and more) on this highly distinctive photograph style. Do some back and forth chat with AI on "fine art photography pricing structure" and "signature style / visual voice" and you'll likely be pleasantly surprised.
...and I'll be surprised if I don't see these pictures hanging in a bank/startup lobby at some point!
Donate copies to sfmuni (no matter what!), or front them as "distribution partner", ie: they sell those posters for $999.99 or whatever and cut checks to Mr. Lu for $99 each (or something).
I just set up a shop at <a href="https://shop.lawrence.lu/" rel="nofollow">https://shop.lawrence.lu/. I also emailed Rick Laubscher and Alison Cant at streetcar.org [1] yesterday but they haven't gotten back to me yet.
Also, I don't have a monopoly on "pictures that look like this".
Adam Magyar and Jay Mark Johnson have line scan photos in fine arts as well, and they were in fact a big source of inspiration when I started out on my own line scan journey in 2017.
- <a href="https://elm-chan.org/works/lcam/report.html" rel="nofollow">https://elm-chan.org/works/lcam/report.html (be sure to scroll down and click on the train pics)
There are also Japanese rail fans:
- <a href="https://kr64.seesaa.net/" rel="nofollow">https://kr64.seesaa.net/ with a bewilderingly huge collection of trains all over Japan,
And faux-line scan cameras using regular video cameras, stitching together thin chunks rather than 1 px columns:
Line scan cameras are also commonly used for machine vision in the rail industry to inspect trains for damage and detect graffiti and stuff. And conversely, line scan cameras mounted on trains are used to inspect rails and tunnels.
Nuanced and humble responses... I'm happy for you and all the retro-futurist techies that'll end up with your photos on their walls!
My responses came from a place of emotion, because there's something about them that is so striking, the odd perspective (or lack), the solid "non-blur" of a background, the juxtaposition of subject and method... when you stack all that together it's something special, and "selling" (or more precisely: letting people buy/vote with their money) is one way to encourage more of what you're doing.
Seriously, do your one of three artists proofs for some of these and shop around a gallery showing with SFAC or SF City Hall, then sell your "works exhibited to the public with certificate of authenticity and 10% of sale price going to SF muni"
They're just too striking not to get more eyes on them! Even if you don't, hopefully you feel the little warm glow of having climbed this mountain!
Your other photos are always very pleasant to look at too. Thank you for sharing them.
Are there other photo types you've thought about taking? (I don't know very much about the topic. Rocket launches? Cruise ships? 360/Cylindrical line scan sweeps?)
I assume the train rails and constant motion are part of the appeal of making trains the subject. I can't exactly think of parallels, maybe a factory assembly line.
I have a long-standing dream to use a line scan camera from a moving train, assuming everything would be easy, if I had the camera. Little did I realise how much work is needed to tidy up the imagery!
Your work is extremely beautiful, and I am truly envious of your work, the aesthetic is awesome. I want to do it on the cheap though, with a regular phone as camera.
I think you have given me the directions needed to make some bold steps towards getting what I want out of the 'medium'.
It converts a regular video into a line scan style photo. It works by stitching together small chunks rather than 1px thin slices, so the background has a repetitive texture rather than being smooth horizontal stripes. But at lower resolutions, it looks similar, especially if you pick a spot with a clean background. Also the trains turn out very detailed.
Example work by Kakeyama from Japan using this: <a href="https://kakeyama.fan.coocan.jp/tec/e5e8r.htm" rel="nofollow">https://kakeyama.fan.coocan.jp/tec/e5e8r.htm
Have you seen <a href="https://philo.gay/linecam/" rel="nofollow">https://philo.gay/linecam/ and <a href="https://github.com/FlamingSpork/grindstone" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/FlamingSpork/grindstone for the postprocessing code?
(previously on HN frontpage, and before that, at EMF Camp!)
I actually reached out to Philo on GitHub Issues but she hasn't responded yet [1]. I also mentioned her cool camera on my blog [2].
By the way, I recognize your username as the person that Philo credits with "rewriting grindstone in idiomatic NumPy". That's super cool!
Looks like a realm of 'I bit off more than I can chew' when it comes to results. Good to see OpenSeadragon in the wild on Flaming Spork's site (for prsenting images). It is a rarely ploughed furrow of artistic endeavour, and I suspect that is for good reason (of difficulty).
My plan was to experiment on the canal towpath with bicycle and basic android phone. I think I need a proper camera and the train.
If people are moving, they may get stretched or distorted. But they won't ever get blurry, since the capture rate is like 10,000 lines per second.
dllu · · focus · HN ↗
- Line scan camera image processing: <a href="https://daniel.lawrence.lu/blog/2025-09-21-line-scan-camera-image-processing/" rel="nofollow">https://daniel.lawrence.lu/blog/2025-09-21-line-scan-camera-... Previous discussions:
- Standalone line scan camera hardware: <a href="https://daniel.lawrence.lu/blog/2026-06-12-standalone-cnc-line-scan-camera/" rel="nofollow">https://daniel.lawrence.lu/blog/2026-06-12-standalone-cnc-li...- Line scan camera image processing 2: <a href="https://daniel.lawrence.lu/blog/2026-08-02-line-scan-camera-image-processing-part-2/" rel="nofollow">https://daniel.lawrence.lu/blog/2026-08-02-line-scan-camera-...
plun9 · · focus · HN ↗
0xfaded · · focus · HN ↗
I never thought about it until seeing these, but line scans yield an orthographic projection in the scan direction. There was a little bit of uncanny valley being able to see parts of the front/back of the car that would have normally been compressed out occluded by perspective.
ramses0 · · focus · HN ↗
...and I'll be surprised if I don't see these pictures hanging in a bank/startup lobby at some point!
dole · · focus · HN ↗
ramses0 · · focus · HN ↗
Animats · · focus · HN ↗
[1] <a href="https://www.streetcar.org/museum/" rel="nofollow">https://www.streetcar.org/museum/
dllu · · focus · HN ↗
[1] <a href="https://www.streetcar.org/about-sfmsr/" rel="nofollow">https://www.streetcar.org/about-sfmsr/
dllu · · focus · HN ↗
Adam Magyar and Jay Mark Johnson have line scan photos in fine arts as well, and they were in fact a big source of inspiration when I started out on my own line scan journey in 2017.
- <a href="https://www.magyaradam.com/wp/?page_id=368" rel="nofollow">https://www.magyaradam.com/wp/?page_id=368
- <a href="https://www.jaymarkjohnson.com/works" rel="nofollow">https://www.jaymarkjohnson.com/works
Seth Itow, Philomena, and Elm-chan both also have hobbyist line scan camera setups:
- <a href="https://www.sethitow.com/posts/2026-linescan/" rel="nofollow">https://www.sethitow.com/posts/2026-linescan/
- <a href="https://philo.gay/linecam/" rel="nofollow">https://philo.gay/linecam/
- <a href="https://elm-chan.org/works/lcam/report.html" rel="nofollow">https://elm-chan.org/works/lcam/report.html (be sure to scroll down and click on the train pics)
There are also Japanese rail fans:
- <a href="https://kr64.seesaa.net/" rel="nofollow">https://kr64.seesaa.net/ with a bewilderingly huge collection of trains all over Japan,
And faux-line scan cameras using regular video cameras, stitching together thin chunks rather than 1 px columns:
- <a href="https://railfile.jp/" rel="nofollow">https://railfile.jp/
- <a href="https://x.com/yamakox/status/2089934720759144653" rel="nofollow">https://x.com/yamakox/status/2089934720759144653
- <a href="https://kakeyama.image.coocan.jp/index.htm" rel="nofollow">https://kakeyama.image.coocan.jp/index.htm
- <a href="https://trains.jo-m.ch/#/trains/list" rel="nofollow">https://trains.jo-m.ch/#/trains/list
Line scan cameras are also commonly used for machine vision in the rail industry to inspect trains for damage and detect graffiti and stuff. And conversely, line scan cameras mounted on trains are used to inspect rails and tunnels.
ramses0 · · focus · HN ↗
My responses came from a place of emotion, because there's something about them that is so striking, the odd perspective (or lack), the solid "non-blur" of a background, the juxtaposition of subject and method... when you stack all that together it's something special, and "selling" (or more precisely: letting people buy/vote with their money) is one way to encourage more of what you're doing.
Seriously, do your one of three artists proofs for some of these and shop around a gallery showing with SFAC or SF City Hall, then sell your "works exhibited to the public with certificate of authenticity and 10% of sale price going to SF muni"
They're just too striking not to get more eyes on them! Even if you don't, hopefully you feel the little warm glow of having climbed this mountain!
big_toast · · focus · HN ↗
Are there other photo types you've thought about taking? (I don't know very much about the topic. Rocket launches? Cruise ships? 360/Cylindrical line scan sweeps?)
I assume the train rails and constant motion are part of the appeal of making trains the subject. I can't exactly think of parallels, maybe a factory assembly line.
dllu · · focus · HN ↗
<a href="https://i.dllu.net/swing_07_7668f7f16ff7ac2a.png" rel="nofollow">https://i.dllu.net/swing_07_7668f7f16ff7ac2a.png
Also motorcycle cops:
<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Francisco_Police_Department_motorcycle_officers_line_scan_2026_dllu.jpg" rel="nofollow">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Francisco_Police...
Theodores · · focus · HN ↗
Your work is extremely beautiful, and I am truly envious of your work, the aesthetic is awesome. I want to do it on the cheap though, with a regular phone as camera.
I think you have given me the directions needed to make some bold steps towards getting what I want out of the 'medium'.
dllu · · focus · HN ↗
<a href="https://github.com/vitroid/TrainScanner" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/vitroid/TrainScanner
It converts a regular video into a line scan style photo. It works by stitching together small chunks rather than 1px thin slices, so the background has a repetitive texture rather than being smooth horizontal stripes. But at lower resolutions, it looks similar, especially if you pick a spot with a clean background. Also the trains turn out very detailed.
Example work by Kakeyama from Japan using this: <a href="https://kakeyama.fan.coocan.jp/tec/e5e8r.htm" rel="nofollow">https://kakeyama.fan.coocan.jp/tec/e5e8r.htm
Theodores · · focus · HN ↗
maddie0 · · focus · HN ↗
(previously on HN frontpage, and before that, at EMF Camp!)
dllu · · focus · HN ↗
By the way, I recognize your username as the person that Philo credits with "rewriting grindstone in idiomatic NumPy". That's super cool!
[1] <a href="https://github.com/FlamingSpork/grindstone/issues/1" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/FlamingSpork/grindstone/issues/1
[2] <a href="https://daniel.lawrence.lu/blog/2026-06-12-standalone-cnc-line-scan-camera/#s3.3" rel="nofollow">https://daniel.lawrence.lu/blog/2026-06-12-standalone-cnc-li...
Theodores · · focus · HN ↗
My plan was to experiment on the canal towpath with bicycle and basic android phone. I think I need a proper camera and the train.
trebligdivad · · focus · HN ↗
dllu · · focus · HN ↗
wxw · · focus · HN ↗
thompson-rc · · focus · HN ↗