From redscale film to cyanotypes. Got the blues? Sure, lots of blues!
My first jab at cyanotypes seems to have worked out quite well. Twenty of my first cyanotypes have travelled all around the globe for the APUG.org postcard exchange, and I have received some good critiques about them. Here’s one of the two themes I printed. I found it really fun to do. It does require sunny days for printing, and since we are slowly but surely moving towards the autumn (or fall, whichever you prefer), I’m guessing I won’t be doing cyanotypes again until the next summer comes along. Gives me enough time to shoot some more 6×9 negatives, which is the largest I can process at the moment. Works well on 10×15 postcards.
Without further ado, I present to you: “Hillside”.
3 Comments
That is beautiful, Jacco! Good for you on the success you said you got with them (looks well deserved), and good time you enjoyed doing and working on them.
You have to print them outdoors? I’m not understanding the needing to be sunny out part … ???
Jeff, thanks. Indeed, you print them outdoors (or using any UV-lightsource). It’s iron-based rather than silver-based photography: the sensitive layer is painted onto paper, and when dry, a negative is contact-printed in sunlight. All that remains after that is rinsing with plain water and drying. Quite simple, actually. The hardest part, if you ask me, is applying the layer of liquid to the paper, getting an even distribution of the photo-sensitive layer.
Another one coming up soon!
That is really cool and fascinating, Jacco! I never knew that about cyanotypes… I honestly thought that it just meant that they had a cyan cast to them, not that it had it’s own unique process like that… really cool! And good job on it again, it really is a good lookin’ image! Can’t wait to see more!