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

Spikes in development – Problem and Solution

Removing the spikes in development is important, in order to work with better data and get more precise correction curves for the best linearization of our photographs. Paolo Saccheri has tested this below on cyanotypes, though it is the same on other alternative processes. Writer and photography / Paolo Saccheri What are spikes? Spikes are sudden bumps in values, reading a step tablet test print used to calibrate a printing … Read more

Lesley Duxbury

Lesley Duxbury from Australia photographs the landscape around her in cyanotype and sometimes tones her work using Eucalyptus. From: Briagolong, Victoria, Australia Shows: Cyanotypes, Polymer plate photogravures, Photograms. Lesley Duxbury is an Australian artist based in Gippsland. Her work includes printmaking and photography, especially polymer plate photogravure and cyanotypes. She has also dabbled in photograms. Her interests are in the atmospherics of landscapes and perceptions of place. She has undertaken … Read more

Kallitypes roadtrip #2 – “I am off for Indian country”

Ping! In my email inbox is Rickards E. Baker’s second instalment of his Kallitype roadtrip. The email said, “I am off for Indian country”. I wish I was too! Follow this series of his 3,000-mile-long road trip across the USA where he will be making kallitypes in his portable lab in his car. Writer and photography / Richard E. Baker Links to all the chapters in the Kallitype Roadtrip: Kallitypes … Read more

Zrno international alternative photographic processes festival

7 tips for running a festival from the ZRNO alt. proc. photo. festival

ZRNO festival is an international festival of alternative photography held in Macedonia. Sasho Alushevski from Macedonia is one of the organizers for the Zrno festival, which is now running for a second year this summer and shares no less than his 7 top tips for running a festival. Photography / Sasho Alushevski / Sašo Aluševski / Сашо Алушевски, Martina Peneva, Viktorija Machkovska A first question; what does Zrno mean? Sasho … 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

Renato Ferreira

Renato Ferreira (Renato Ferrara) is a Portuguese-American retired CPA, born in Coimbra, located in the central part of Portugal. From: Coimbra, Portugal. Shows: Bromoils, Cyanotypes, Silver gelatins, Oleobroms, and Vandykes. Renato Ferreira’s first experience with photography was around five or six years of age with his father’s camera and later tailing him into his darkroom where he learned the arts of the darkroom and the historic processes. His father, an … Read more

Fidan Nazim

Fidan Nazim, a librarian from Azerbaijan is now focusing on photography and works with alternative photographic processes from a home laboratory. From: Baku, Azerbaijan. Shows: Cyanotypes, Aged and bleached prints. Fidan Nazim qizi lives in Baku, Azerbaijan. She received her university education in librarianship and information. After working in a library for years, she worked in accounting, but in recent years has focused entirely on photography. By studying alternative processes, … Read more

Kallitypes roadtrip #1 – Preparation for the 4 week trip ahead

Have we not all dreamed about packing up, installing a portable lab and taking off? Richard E. Baker actually does it. Follow this series of his 3,000-mile-long road trip across the USA where he will be making kallitypes in his portable lab in his car. Writer and photography / Richard E. Baker Links to all the chapters in the Kallitype Roadtrip: Kallitypes roadtrip #1 – Preparation for the 4 week … Read more

Paula Smith

Paula Smith is a cyanotypist and mixed media artist, who aims to capture the beauty of nature in its finest detail. From: Forest of Dean, United Kingdom. Shows: Cyanotypes. Paula Smith is a nature inspired artist living in the Forest of Dean and, with its wealth of colour and natural beauty, it’s no wonder she works on a forever changing canvas, just like the seasons themselves. Her passion to explore … Read more

Working Process for Cuprotypes

The cuprotype is a process that uses similar chemistry to a cyanotype and a relatively forgiving, inexpensive and flexible process. Frank Gorga shares his working method for cuprotype. Writer and photography / Frank Gorga Background of cuprotypes Copper-based images (cuprotypes) were first described by Burnett in the 1850s. The process was modified/refined by Obernetter in the 1860s. However, the process was never particularly popular and sat more-or-less dormant for roughly … Read more

Anna Atkins created labels with the specimen's scientific name at the bottom of the page.

How to print an Anna Atkins cyanotype

Apart from being a brilliant scientist and botanist, Anna Atkins was also an artist. She created numerous prints from plants, lace and feather arrangements. This is how you can print your own cyanotypes in Anna Atkins’ style. We have done research, but not managed to find out a lot on paper or oils used, so if you possess ANY knowledge at all in terms of which paper or oil was … Read more

Cyanotype notes – Document your cyanotype process

by Malin Fabbri Buy the cyanotype notebook here – published by AlternativePhotography.com This notebook contains pre-defined pages with enough room to document 50 cyanotypes that will help you narrow down a universe of options to the perfect combination. $00.00 Download printable eBook (PDF) directly. Free for Supporting Members – become a member and email talk@alternativephotography.com. If you are already a member, email us and we’ll send it! $8.00 Download … Read more

Sonja Schaeffeler

Sonja Schaeffeler is a photographer and graphic designer venturing into the cyanotype process, experimenting with dry and wet cyanotype and toning. She is particularly drawn to plants and blossoms. From: Egg, Zurich, Switzerland. Shows: Botanical cyanotypes As a photographer, Sonja Schaeffeler is interested in all forms of photography and loves working with light. Professionally she made the switch from analogue to digital photography at the time but continued experimenting with … Read more

Private Copper Plate Photogravure Workshop with Paul Taylor, Renaissance Press

Ashuelot, New Hampshire, USA Private copper plate photogravure plate making and printing workshop. Link to info: https://renaissancepress.com/workshops/photogravure/

Calvin Grier Techinical Guide to Gum printing

Technical Guide to Gum Printing

by Calvin Grier If you have worked in the Gum bichromate process for some time and want to take it to the next level, this book could be for you. Buy “Technical Guide to Gum Printing” directly from Calvin Grier $49.95 for eBook – download direct. Why buy it here? When you choose the option to buy directly from the author, the book is shipped by the author … Read more

Illustration from Fiona Robins book Bluest of Blues

Interview with Fiona Robinson author and illustrator of an Anna Atkins children’s book

I came across a beautifully illustrated book called The Bluest of Blues: Anna Atkins and the first book of photographs and naturally became intrigued. I wanted to know more and set up an interview with the creator Fiona Robinson. Photography and illustrations / Fiona Robinson Interviewer / Malin Fabbri Why a book on Anna Atkins? Fiona Robinson: I’m an author and illustrator of children’s picture books. Before creating The Bluest … Read more

Günther Wilhelm

Günther Wilhelm has been working with historical photographic techniques for 20+ years. He shares his gum bichromates here but also works in a range of other processes such as cyanotype, salt, albumen and kallitype. From: Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. Shows: Albumens, Cuprotypes and Gum bichromates. Günther Wilhelm, visual artist from Ludwigshafen on the Rhine, has been working with historical photographic techniques, the so-called “Edeldrucke”, which involve transferring a photography on … Read more

Claire-louise Pitman

Claire-louise Pitman, a fine art student, shows her experiments with different process such as cyanotypes. From: Somerset, UK. Shows: Cyanotypes, chemigram. Claire-louise Pitman was born in Somerset where she had her first major operation at just a few months old. As a child, she enjoyed forest school. Now she is closer to nature because of it. College is where she found photography in GCSE art. At college, she studied fine … Read more

Photography rebus 12

Rebus! It was quite some time ago we did one of these, so let’s get the brain warmed up with an easy one. Can you figure out the word? Comment below (no cheating looking at the comments now!)