For several years now, Jennifer Booher has been making double-exposure cyanotype photograms of disposable plastic shopping bags. She calls the series “Extinction” and it began after her town banned plastic bags as a tongue-in-cheek typology imagining these bags as an endangered species. Writer and photography / Jennifer Steen Booher The process is pretty straightforward – I layer a plastic bag over a sheet of cyanotype paper on a hard board, … Read more
Cyanotypes can be printed on Japanese washi paper with added textures and fine results. But washing Japanese washi paper is a fine art in itself. Adam Welch shares his method. Writer and photography / Adam Welch Any logical person might ask “But why”? And who am I to disagree? “In fact, it’s perfectly normal to wonder why someone would choose to place themselves in the way of a photographic quagmire … Read more
The cyanotype toning book from Annette Golaz – another Routledge publication – is here, containing step-by-step instructions and contemporary artists working with toning. As we all know by now, cyanotypes are blue by default. As much as blue is a wonderful color, it is not always suitable for the final print. Luckily, cyanotypes can be toned, and now there is a whole book devoted to this topic. From the publisher: … Read more
Cyanotypes are those blueprints you have probably seen. It is the best way to get started and learn alternative photographic processes. The process is easy to learn but takes a lifetime to master. The cyanotype process is easy to learn, and a good starting point for anyone who want to learn more about alternative photographic processes. Here are some steps to take when you want to learn the cyanotype process: … Read more
An excerpt from Blueprint to cyanotypes: Exploring a historical alternative photographic process. 3 different coating methods and how to dry and store the coated paper.
Jalo Porkkala has tested papers for cyanotype printing and shares the result.
Malin Fabbri shows how to care for and wash your cyanotypes printed on fabric.
Blueprint to cyanotypes – exploring a historical altenrnative photographic process, a book with practical instructions to the cyanotype.
JE Piper has learnt how to make cyanotype negatives in-camera. Here is how.
Jim Read argues the case for using the cheaper papers for printing cyanotypes.
Egill Ibsen shows us how cyanotypes can be painted with acrylics to get a spectacular result.
Brian Young tells the fascinating story of salt prints and cyanotypes – photographic printing processes from the 19th Century.
Gavin Lyons shows how to make a Cyanotype image with a UV LED box. Cyanotypes are traditionally developed in sunlight, but in the winter the UV light isn’t so strong and readily available. Here is how to make a Cyanotype, Van Dyke Brown or Salt Papers at any time during the year. Writer and photography / Gavin Lyons This box will produce an A3 or A4 size cyanotype print just … Read more
This article is an excerpt from Ruth Brown’s book Cyanotypes on Fabric. Here Ruth explains how to prepare the fabric for printing.
Ruth Brown is finally releasing an updated edition of Cyanotypes on Fabric. From the expert fabric printer comes a practical and well researched how-to book on cyanotypes.
Read more here: https://www.alternativephotography.com/blueprint-to-cyanotypes/
Cyanotypes are fun and easy and are the perfect way to begin your exploration of alternative and historical photographic processes.
Cyanotypes are usually blue. Or toned into a sepia color. Filipe Alves shows us how to get both blue and sepia into the same cyanotype.
Elizabeth Graves examines acetic acid development upon classic formula cyanotypes and disprove the myths about developing in vinegar.
Anthony Mournian of the Photographers’ Formulary tells the story of Malin Fabbri: Founder of AlternativePhotography.com.