Comments on: Photosynthesis: A world where you can grow your own photographic supplies

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 15:35:04 +0000

I wonder if the prints could be preserved by sandwiching them between two sheets of wax paper and sealing with a hot iron? We used to do that with autumn leaves. The iron makes the wax (semi) clear.

By: Becky and Katy. | “Insanity is contagious.”

Becky and Katy. | “Insanity is contagious.” — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 21:18:46 +0000

[...] http://www.alternativephotography.com/wp/processes/photosynthesis/photosynthesis-grow-your-own-photo… [...]

By: Hailey

Hailey — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 15:38:47 +0000

I would really like to hear a little bit more about how long this process actually takes to work. I’m a high school senior studying Alternative Process, and am in the middle of this project right now with paper positives, lettuce, and kale.

By: Rosie

Rosie — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 09:59:18 +0000

Hi Ellie, Sorry for not replying sooner I didn’t click the right things to get notifications of posts. You can use film negative, you do need a positive image to make a positive print on a leaf. When I had a go I printed a negative image (so the print was in the negative) and then rephotographed it onto 4x5inch film using a copy camera to get a positive image on negative film. It is quite a lot work to make an image this way, why do you want to use film? Otherwise the process is they same sandwich your film and the leaf in a contact printing frame and wait.
Good luck
Rosie

By: Rosie

Rosie — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 09:53:33 +0000

Hi Andy, thanks for letting me know about these other approaches. I am familiar with the resin idea but it is to toxic so I won’t use it as it doesn’t fit with the ethos of my work.
Regards
Rosie

By: Andy Schmitt

Andy Schmitt — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 17:30:42 +0000

At Photographs in New Orleans, I saw a series of work done where they potted the leaf in fiberglass resin after they were done exposing if. They were saying they pressed the leaf while it was still attached to the plant so the chlorophyll naturally left.
Karen bought one a few years ago & the image seems fine today.
I’ve also seen exhibits where people took close shaved sod and either exposed them to sun under a big negative or just projected the image on them so the chlorophyll died offing he shadow areas. These were still living sod so the image was transient after the sod was exposed to light w/o the image overlay.
I’m really sorry. It I don’t remember the names of the artists involved..

By: Ellie

Ellie — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 10:32:23 +0000

Hi,
i was thinking about doing this process for my a2 photography coursework.
Do you know how to do the process with regular negatives from a film camera? If so can you go into a bit more detail in how to do it please? It would be greatly appreciated
Thanks x

By: Shannon W.

Shannon W. — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:58:45 +0000

Awesome work!

I’ve seen this done where a negative was used and light was shone on the leaf for about a day or two (pretty much what you did here). However, then they took the leaf and stripped off the chlorophyll with some boiling alcohol. They then took a tincture of iodine solution (you can still buy this at some pharmacies or I can show how to easily make it), left it on for a few minutes, then rinsed with cold water. The idea here is that the places that were exposed to light produced starch (product of photosynthesis), whereas the sheltered sections did not. Starch forms a decently stable complex with iodine, giving a dark color. This effect can probably be enhanced by keeping the plant in the dark for a day before the exposure, that way any amount of starch produced in the day of exposure will be maximized and of significant difference from the rest of the leaf.

Not sure exactly how long this starch-iodine complex lasts, but I would imagine quite a while, as long as it is kept in relatively inert conditions.

By: Rosie

Rosie — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:40:58 +0000

Hi Christopher,

I tried a UV light used for cyanotypes but it didn’t work after 10 mins. The idea for me was to use a natural process for a low impact environmental print so I was not interested in pursuing an artifical light where there is so much natural light around. I don’t think an artificial light is strong enough to create an image before the leaf dries out, but I could be wrong.

Rosie

By: christopher

christopher — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:43:45 +0000

Have you tried using an enlarger or a high watt light bulb instead of sun light to streamline the process? If so, is there a time you suggest for different types of leaves?