cyanotypes

World Cyanotype Day 2025 theme Cultivating Community

World Cyanotype Day! Theme: GLOBAL BLUEPRINT – People, Place, and Environment

World Cyanotype Day 2026 will be taking place on the 26th of September. It will be a BLUEtiful day when artists, photographers, and cyanotype enthusiasts from around the globe come together to celebrate cyanotypes.  The theme of World Cyanotype Day 2026 is “GLOBAL BLUEPRINT – People, Place, and Environment”. Artists are invited to create and share work that celebrates connection, collaboration, and creativity. World Cyanotype Day 2026: Theme: GLOBAL BLUEPRINT … Read more

Print the cyanotype

Cyanotypes in Real Time: A 5-Minute Creative Journey Wherever You Are

Cyanotypes are one of the most accessible photographic printing processes. With a few compact tools in your backpack, Christiane Casas shares how to create unique blue-toned prints on the go – in just five minutes! Whether you’re at the beach, in a park, or exploring a new city, this method lets you capture the moment in a tactile, artistic way. Here’s how to turn a snapshot into a cyanotype print. … Read more

Final tricolour cyanotype

Tri-Color Cyanotypes: Advancing the Techniques from Duotone

Building on the foundation of duotone cyanotype, Matthew Bary guides us through the next step – creating tri-colour cyanotypes, including a detailed step-by-step for preparing negatives. Drawing from earlier failed experiments. With emphasis on image selection, precision, and patience, this method reveals how vibrant, multi-layered cyanotypes can be achieved using simple materials and creative problem-solving. Writer and photography / Matthew Bary   My “duo tone” tests and instructions ultimately came … Read more

Making a cyanotype tote bag

Making a cyanotype tote bag is a beautiful way to showcase your art. Greeshma from India shares how to make one in a few simple steps. Writer and photography / Greeshma Cyanotype can transform an ordinary tote bag into a unique masterpiece. Cyanotype, a photographic printing process dating back to the 19th century and recognised by its distinctive blue colour is of course use in many applications today. In this … Read more

Two negatives are placed on a piece of cotton cloth: size approx. A2.

Cyanotypes – how blue can you get?

Ray Harris gives an overview of the cyanotype process and his interpretation of blues and shares his cyanotype process. Writer and photography / Ray Harris Anna Atkins was born on 16 March 1799 and produced the first book to include ‘photographs’ which were in fact, cyanotypes. This post goes into more detail on making cyanotypes at home. The process, in its simplest form, is to mix two chemicals to produce … Read more

Cyanotype in the mail

You’ve got mail! An unusual cyanotype project by Pedro Leal

I received a letter. You know one of those that comes through the mailbox. An undeveloped cyanotype in a transparent envelope. Interview with Pedro Leal about his cyanotype mail project “Time Today”. Photography / Pedro Leal During my 23 years as an editor of AlternativePhotography.com, I have had some unusual things sent to me, and this was one of them. Pedro Leal is doing a project where he coats and … Read more

Anna Atkins tribute journal 2024 - Week starting Monday

Get Inspired – The Anna Atkins Tribute Journal

Christopher Osborne is the editor of Silvergrain Classics and an avid fan of journaling. He reviews our Anna Atkins tribute journal and is pleased with the result. Writer / Christopher Osborne The Anna Atkins Tribute Journal 2023 is the brainchild of Malin Fabbri. Malin is the driving force behind alternativephotography.com, the go-to source of information for anyone interested in alternative photographic techniques. For those of you who are not familiar … Read more

Photograph of Anna Atkins from 1861, licensed by Creative Commons.

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

World Cyanotype Day 2022 map

Call for entries: World Cyanotype Day 2023. Open for entries 30th of September and our deadline is 7th of October 2023

We will open for entries on World Cyanotype Day, the 30th of September and deadline is 7th of October 2023. Once a year – on the last Saturday in September – the cyanotype gets special attention. Since 2015 the cyanotype is celebrated on the last Saturday in September in the yearly event World cyanotype Day. If you are not one of those who do cyanotypes EVERY day, it may be a … Read more

Wet Cyanotype Painting: Fun under the sun

Once you’ve explored classic cyanotype photograms, OHP negatives, UV light boxes or wet cyanotypes, you may be interested in having even more fun with wet cyanotype painting. Dennis Humphrey began his explorations between 2018 and 2020. Basically, it is spontaneous painting with liquid cyanotype emulsion, on paper, under the sun—a fun, serendipitous process. Writer and photography / Dennis Humphrey What is a wet cyanotype painting? It is painting, drawing, pouring, … Read more

Lake Pukaki by Jo – duotone cyanotype

Creating multi-coloured cyanotype prints – Out of the Blue – the world appears in colour

Cyanotype is a easily accessible process with one limitation. It’s blue. Unless you know how to create multi-coloured cyanotypes. Here is how. Writer and photography / Jo Bind with tricolour section by Sehera Nawaz It was literally out of the blue when I first saw a post by Annette Golaz on the cyanotype Facebook group in early 2021 which showed a full-colour print that she claimed was done with cyanotype … Read more

Cyanotype print wash delay test

Darkroom variations for the classic cyanotype

Paolo Saccheri tests different variations of citric acids, washing and printing variables for the cyanotype process and shares his results with us. Please note that this is for the advanced cyanotyper. If you are a beginner, please start with Cyanotype – the classic process. Writer and photography / Paolo Saccheri Paper white and citric acid variations for cyanotypes Normally, when you print in cyanotype (or any of the other alternative … Read more

Cyanotype bag from Cyanogifts.

Cyanogifts – The collective behind the cyanotype tote bags

Cyanogifts – a collective from Macedonia – channel their creativity into placing art on everyday objects, like their cyanotype tote bags. How did Cyanogifts start? Cyanogifts was an idea that started from our love for alternative photographic processes. The idea is fairly old, yet, as we say, the star constellations were not adequate to make it happen. “We wanted to place our love and passion for cyanotypes into something practical, … Read more

Dan Hermouet in his "kitchen“

Cooking photography – sustainable alternative photographic processes by Dan Hermouet

Why would an artist be concerned with ways to make photography more sustainable and how could such query transform one’s artistic practice? Curious writer Miglė Markulytė interviews photographer Dan Hermouet to reveal how he cooks photography by distilling pigments from a river, scrubbing off the rust from old tools, and mixing special photo-sensitive solutions with curds. Writer / Miglė Markulytė Photography / Dan Hermouet “A good chef can not only … Read more

Anette Golaz

Interview with Annette Golaz – author of “Cyanotype toning”

An interview with author of  “Cyanotype toning: Using Botanicals to Tone Blueprints Naturally”, Annette Golaz on why she tones cyanotypes, she also shares her favorite toning “recipe” with us. Photography / Annette Golaz, Roberta Fele How did you get interested in art and photography? Annette Golaz: My interest in photography goes back to my childhood. My dad was a real camera buff. He left us a collection of 400 cameras … Read more

Blythotype example of positive cyanotype

Blythtypes – positive-working cyanotype prints

The ‘Blythtype’, is a variation on Cyanotypes by Jeff Blyth where a positive print is made from a positive image. It also has increased light sensitivity through the introduction of a photosensitive dye. Cyanotype experimenters are encouraged to have a go, though NOT for beginners. Writers and photographers / Jeff Blyth and Martin Richardson Abstract This paper describes a new Cyanotype system, the ‘Blythtype’, which offers a new technique resulting … Read more

Cyanotype toning book by Annette Golaz

New book on toning cyanotypes!

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

A good starting point for cyanotypes – learn the process

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

World Cyanotype Day 2021 - Rejuvenation

World Cyanotype Day 2021, 25th September – can it possibly get BIGGER?

The 25th of September 2021 is World Cyanotype Day. Last year there were 265 artists taking part here from 50 different countries. Can this year possibly get BIGGER? Well, start by preparing, you have plenty of time to really think of the theme and make something NEW, and the theme this year is “Rejuvenation”.  Enter your work in the gallery at AlternativePhotography.com: AlternativePhotography.com/gallery/gallery-by-process/world-cyanotype-day-2021-gallery-rejuvenation/ There are many more ways to take … Read more

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