History of alt. proc. Archives - AlternativePhotography.com

birthdays of inventors of alternative photographic processes

Today we are 23 years old! Help make a list of Inventors of alternative photographic processes

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

Anna Atkins tribute calendar – available now!

After our very successful event with 90+ artists sending in cyanotypes to honour Anna Atkins (if you are looking for the journal it’s here) –> Order your copy of the Anna Atkins tribute calendar here Good news #1: We have selected the winners of our Anna Atkins tribute event. The jury had a really tough time selecting ONLY 12 cyanotypes since there were 90+ entries and many many were very … Read more

Anna Atkins

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

The Photographer’s Friend Almanac and American Year Book of Photography for 1872

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

The history of anthotypes

An excerpt from Anthotypes – Explore the darkroom in your garden and make photographs using plants. How the anthotype was discovered.

Anna Atkins Asplenium Marinium; British, 1853

Cyanotype history – John Herschel’s invention

A brief history of the cyanotype process invented by Sir John Herschel

An Ironic History of the Alternative Processes

An ironic history of alternative photographic processes written by Dr Mike Ware

“The Open Door, Forbidden City, Beijing” by Brian Young. Toned cyanotype.

Salt prints and cyanotypes: a short history of printing processes

Brian Young tells the fascinating story of salt prints and cyanotypes – photographic printing processes from the 19th Century.

A Brief History of Carbon Printing

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

Mungo Ponton – A tribute to the grandfather of the Gum Bichromate and other dichromate processes

20th November is the birth anniversary of a very important yet hardly known figure in the history of photography. The Scottish inventor Mungo Ponton.

A short treatise on Iron Salts

Jean-Claude Mougin shares his ambitious treatise on iron salts and also shows how to make ferric oxolate.

Photolithography – a history and its process

Angela Young describes the background of photolithography and shows, step by step how to make a print.

Ancient ways, modern views

Calotypy for the 21st Century; Pt1: Dr Hugh Diamond’s Single Solution Process: Christopher Wright gives us a history of Calotypes and explains the process.

A remarkable affair involving a major auction house, an eminent photohistorian and an early photograph

An excerpt from “What’s wrong with Daguerre?” by Hans Rooseboom.

History of the bromoil process

The history of the bromoil process, invented in 1907 be Englishman C. Welbourne Piper on a suggestion from E.J. Wall. Written by David Lewis

History of Photographic Words and Slogans

A list of photographic words and their origin. The article is a work in progress and any historians out there with their finger on the facts should feel free to add to this list.