Cyanotypes
My first cyanotypes at home
(9 January 2006)
Impatiens
Parsley
My garden
White Star Flowers
Provincetown scene (reversed)
Provincetown scene
Ferns
Cyanotypes
When in Provincetown in November and December 2005, I spent some time with the wonderful Midge Battelle, who showed me how to make cyanotypes.
Cyanotypes are created using what is known as an 'alternative' photographic process, involving chemicals, paper and sunlight. Images are created by objects you put between the chemically treated paper and the sunlight. What you get with organic material are luminous shadows. And with sketches and negatives, a haunting blue and white image that lets you see things you just don't notice in a more standard image.
I was so enthralled by the process and what I saw I could do with it, that I set out to make my own when I got home. It is like therapy and fun, all rolled into one.
Oh happy day, the day I found cyanotypes!
Drier in the wardrobe in the second bedroom.
Closed, lightless (that's an old valance that I knew I'd kept for a good reason) I was terribly tempted to open the door and see if it was light-tight. It was very distressing to deal with this paradox.
The lab in my kitchen.
Drying racks. Not a good time to make coffee.
