Our Sir John Herschel tribute calendar features 12 beautiful alternative photographic prints in honour of Sir John Herschel. From our Calendar & Journal event 12 images were selected to feature in our calendar to brighten your wall. Sir John Herschel tribute calendar – works for any year Ships ANYWHERE – buy from Lulu: Order calendar from Lulu – works for ANY year “Very impressive!” – Wendy Currie We print … Read more
The Sir John Herschel tribute journal is a daily planner and contains both pre-defined pages and blank pages for you to plan your year. The templates are there to help you focus on your art projects as well as get a balance with work, home and everything else that happens in life. The journal is a tribute to Herschel, who gave us many of our beloved alt. processes such as … Read more
Thought about visiting the Herschel Family Archives at the Harry Ransom Center? Through the lens of her own experimental cyanotype practice, Caroline Roberts explores Sir John Herschel’s original lab notes, anthotype test pieces, and poetic observations, drawing powerful connections between a 19th-century pioneer and a contemporary artist devoted to process, discovery, and wonder. Writer and photography / Caroline Roberts In June 2022, I visited the Herschel Family Papers, stored at … Read more
Stéphanie Probst challenges the widespread belief that pinhole photography is the original form of photography. Inspired by Denis Bernard’s Sténopés, it traces the technique’s modern roots, distinguishes it from the camera obscura, and explores its resurgence as an avant-garde, poetic practice. Historical analysis and personal reflection reveal that pinhole photography is not a relic but a vibrant, experimental tool with lasting creative potential. Writer / Stéphanie Probst What if pinhole … Read more
Sir John Herschel gave us, who work in alternative photographic processes, so much. Without him would we have the anthotype, chrysotype and cyanotype? I also find it fascinating that a century and a half later his discoveries and new words are still relevant. ‘Snapshot’ and ‘negative’ are two that are still in use. Writer and photography / Malin Fabbri Many historians and researchers have written accounts of Sir John Herschel’s … Read more
Our Colour-themed calendar features 12 beautiful alternative photographic prints in alternative photographic processes. 12 images were selected in our yearly calendar event to brighten your wall. Colour in alternative photographic processes calendar – works for any year Ships ANYWHERE – buy from Lulu: Order calendar from Lulu – works for ANY year We print the calendar with both Lulu and Etsy to be able to deliver as locally as … Read more
Dr Katayoun Dowlatshahi celebrates the enduring magic and tactile nature of darkroom photography in an era dominated by digital technology. She reflects on its historical significance, innovative techniques, and resurgence among contemporary artists. Dowlatshahi advocates for integrating analogue methods in modern education to enrich the artistic landscape and preserve this nearly two-century-old tradition. Writer / Dr Katayoun Dowlatshahi Photography / Dr Katayoun Dowlatshahi, Henry Peach Robinson, Yevonde, Malin Fabbri and … Read more
Dr Katayoun Dowlatshahi, commissioned by The National Portrait Gallery in London, shares her journey creating 25 color carbon prints for the Yevonde: Life and Colour exhibition. Her research delves into historical pigments, the Vivex process, and the evolution of carbon printing, emphasizing accuracy in recreating Yevonde’s visionary work. Writer and photography / Dr Katayoun Dowlatshahi Yevonde: Life and Colour (2023). Travelling by train through East Anglia, during February 2023 on … Read more
According to my research, it was Sir John Herschel who discovered the anthotype process and not Mrs Mary Somerville. As soon as I publish an article or text mentioning “Anthotype” and “Herschel”, I invariably get comments saying that it was Mrs Mary Somerville who “invented” the anthotype process. I have not seen any evidence of this in my research and share my findings here in chronological order. Writer / Malin … Read more
AlternativePhotography.com is now 23 years old. Help us make a list of birthdays for inventors of alternative photographic processes, women and men throughout history who contributed to making alt. photo. proc. to what they are today. Please note the information on this list is not verified with sources unless it states so (Wikipedia does not count as a source) and the name of the contributor is stated after each listing. … Read more
Our Anna Atkins tribute calendar features 12 beautiful cyanotypes in honour of Anna Atkins. 90+ artists sent in cyanotypes, and 12 were selected to feature in our calendar to brighten your wall. Anna Atkins tribute calendar – works for any year Buy on Lulu – ships everywhere Rated 5/5 “Unbelievable creativity and excellence. 12 fabulous cyanotypes.” Undated (“un-yeared” is a better word, has dates, but not year), works for … Read more
In 1843 Anna Atkins published the first book of photography made using the cyanotype process called British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions. If you are a cyanotyper, you may also be interested in our tribute event to this true pioneer. Anna Children (maiden name of Anna Atkins) is born 16th of March 1799 in Tonbridge, Kent, UK, the daughter of John George Children (1777-1852) and Hester Anne Holwell (1777-1799). The house of … Read more
A Cuprotype is a photographic print of Copper II Ferrocyanide on paper or fabric. Jim Patterson gives us a history of the Cuprotype process. Writer / Jim Patterson with help from Niranjan Patel, Peter Friedrichsen, Frank Gorga, and Alberto Novo Photography / Jim Patterson, Peter Friedrichsen, Alberto Novo, Niranjan Patel and Frank Gorga A Cuprotype is a photographic print of Copper II Ferrocyanide on paper or fabric. Cuprum = copper … Read more
The Photographer’s Friend Almanac and American Year Book of Photography for 1872 contains recipes and information about cyanotypes, gelatine silver processes as well as a very interesting yellow pages section. Read it for free. This Photographer’s Friend Almanac was kindly donated to us by David Kempton scanned in and shared here for all of you to enjoy! David was gifted the book in the 1970s by a friend who is … Read more
An excerpt from Anthotypes – Explore the darkroom in your garden and make photographs using plants. How the anthotype was discovered.
A brief history of the cyanotype process invented by Sir John Herschel
An ironic history of alternative photographic processes written by Dr Mike Ware
Brian Young tells the fascinating story of salt prints and cyanotypes – photographic printing processes from the 19th Century.
An excerpt from The Carbon Print illustrating Ponton’s Discovery to the Alternative Process Revival. Writer / Sandy King and John Lockhart Photography / Alphonse-Louis Poitevin, Thomas Annan, Richard Miller, Julia Margaret Cameron, Frank Meadow Sutcliffe, Adolphe Braun The early interest in the carbon process grew out of the public concern with the major flaw of early salted paper prints – their tendency to fade. A. M. Marton’s 1905 manual A … Read more
20th November is the birth anniversary of a very important yet hardly known figure in the history of photography. The Scottish inventor Mungo Ponton.