The Amazingness of Cyanotypes

So today was a very interesting experience.

As I have said before, I am taking an alternative processes class this semester. Over the past year or so I've been focused more on the documentary style of photography. This alternative class is good to get me back in the creative side of photography. Today was our first time printing Cyanotypes and I loved it. This process creates a Prussian blue toned print. The older process created a lighter cyan-type color (hence the name) but the process we are using is much easier according to our professor.

Negative, light sensitized paper in contact box
ready for exposure.

Unlike traditional dark room prints, the paper we are using is plain watercolor paper.  There are so many things to take into account before you even start! Each paper creates a slightly different shade of blue and holds up differently in the chemistry we use. There are also different textures to pay attention to. But when you figure all this out there's still so much more to do! The first steps include marking and taping off where you want the image on the paper and cleaning the glass on the contact box. We even have to apply the light sensitive chemistry onto the paper ourselves! Its not as light sensitive as the paper used for gelatin silver prints which cant be in the light or else it'll ruin the paper. So we paint it on with sponge brushes being careful not to put to much or too little on. Its this really ugly looking greenish yellow color. We then dry it with a hair dryer, tape the negative onto it and put in the contact box. Then its ready for exposure!

After 3 minute exposure, before processing.

It really is a guessing game when it comes to how long to expose it. I started out with a 3 minute exposure to pure UV light. We looked at it and decided to process it like that. The yellowish parts you see to the left are the lighter parts of the photo. This tint will be washed away to reveal the beautiful blue color that you see below.

Strathmore paper fter processing.

I decided to do another print with Sketch paper. Its know for being smoother than water color. It also produced a slightly different shade of blue. Surprisingly this print was a longer exposure than the one above.

Canson Paper after processing.

So thats it for now.