dokko is all about making analog images shine and is the result of a long journey in the search for preserving the full feeling of analog film in a digital workflow. Until now, analog prints always had higher quality then digital scans, but dokko has finally managed to change that. dokko scans are sharper and more detailed then even the best optical enlargements, unlocking the advantages of digital retouching and archiving while keeping the integrity of the analog film texture.
Things that make me happy:
Films by Yasujiro Ozu and John Cassavetes, the wackiness of quantum mechanics, good pasta with tomato sauce, mixing Mai Tai, learning new stuff, clean code, cameras and lenses, shooting analog film, and the smile of the Dalai Lama.
Apart from scanning film and improving the scanner, I also work as a cinematographer and colourist for artist projects, and teach film and video at the Berlin University of the Arts.
My interest for photography started when I got a camera from my godfather at age 16 and soon after, I delved into filmmaking, creating Super8 films with friends. I then started studying Physics at the ETH Zürich, but soon realised I rather wanted to dive deeper into the mysteries of moving pictures. So in 1999, I moved to Berlin to study cinematography at the dffb film academy. It was there that I was first confronted the challenge of transforming analog film material into the digital realm. Working on student budgets, we couldn't afford using expensive film scanners and all the affordable options didn't really capture the essence of the originals. So I started to build my own scanner from secondhand industrial parts. Much to my surprise, the first attempt already produced better results than many professional services and after two years of improvements, it could compete with even the top-end systems (only at a much, much slower speed).
When I got back into photography years later I faced a similar issue, however this time even the most expensive scanners turned out to be 20 years old and were completely outdated in terms of quality and workflow. Armed with my previous experience and more resources, I embarked on an extensive journey, combining my skills in optical physics, digital signal processing, programming and color correction to create the ultimate scan machine. Three years later, I achieved what I consider the new gold standard of modern film scanning, and which I'm excited to share with the world.