I seem to have solved the problem, basically by going into all the drop down boxes in Canoscan software and setting everything on high (1200 dsi) and applying a soft filter to remove dust and scratches. Think i also applied 'soft' grain reduction. The last two steps i wouldn't normally do, but I'm happy with the results.
I haven't corrected contrast or anything. This is exactly how they scanned.
Particularly of the 2nd image, which is one of my favorites.
I've begun posting it on
Blondi Bee's thread, although I've opted for posting some images seperately, generally, as i had an issue with the text on the first page.
Viola:
Edit: I do seem to have lost a little resolution by converting from bitmap to jpeg, for uploading!
"bumbling along, as bees do"