Cyanotypes
What is a cyanotype?
A cyanotype is a type of printing process that creates an image in cyan blue, it was developed in 1842 by astronomer John Herschel.
It uses a similar process to photograms but takes a lot longer. Instead of leaving it in the dark and exposing it to light, you put it in the light and let it develop.
It involves spraying special developing chemicals on to a piece of paper exposing it to light. Putting shapes on top of it will leave a mark or shadow where the light has been unable to penetrate and it is not exposed.
How to make a cyanotype
wouldn’t blur.
Evaluation
I think my cyanotypes worked fairly well. Not all the elements turned out exactly as I hoped but overall I was happy with it.
I first used a metal spring which did not work so well as it barely showed up because it had been turned over, and by moving it it was not exposed to light long enough and looked slightly blurred.
This could have gone better if I kept it more still and this would have made it a more clear shape.
The second object I used was an old cassette tape. I think this worked well as there was a big white block which contrasted very well. But unfortunately the detailed bit in the middle did not show up. I think this did not show up because this section was not actually touching the paper as it was slightly raised up and this meant that the light seeped through the sides and the detail was lost.
In future I could improve my cyanotype by chosing the shapes more carefully. After looking at other examples of cyanotypes I think things like leaves come out very well as they give a very detailed and interesting effect.
A cyanotype is a type of printing process that creates an image in cyan blue, it was developed in 1842 by astronomer John Herschel.
It uses a similar process to photograms but takes a lot longer. Instead of leaving it in the dark and exposing it to light, you put it in the light and let it develop.
It involves spraying special developing chemicals on to a piece of paper exposing it to light. Putting shapes on top of it will leave a mark or shadow where the light has been unable to penetrate and it is not exposed.
How to make a cyanotype
- Normal paper is sprayed with a special light sensitive developing chemical
- This turns a light green when exposed to light
- We then chose objects to put on top of this paper - they have to be opaque so that no light passes through, different densities give different effects
- We placed items on the paper so they did not overlap
wouldn’t blur.
- After about 10 or 15 minutes we brought them inside and washed them under clean water
- The colour changed under the water from a light green to a light blue and where the object had been placed were light shapes that contrasted with the blue.
Evaluation
I think my cyanotypes worked fairly well. Not all the elements turned out exactly as I hoped but overall I was happy with it.
I first used a metal spring which did not work so well as it barely showed up because it had been turned over, and by moving it it was not exposed to light long enough and looked slightly blurred.
This could have gone better if I kept it more still and this would have made it a more clear shape.
The second object I used was an old cassette tape. I think this worked well as there was a big white block which contrasted very well. But unfortunately the detailed bit in the middle did not show up. I think this did not show up because this section was not actually touching the paper as it was slightly raised up and this meant that the light seeped through the sides and the detail was lost.
In future I could improve my cyanotype by chosing the shapes more carefully. After looking at other examples of cyanotypes I think things like leaves come out very well as they give a very detailed and interesting effect.
Anna Atkins
Cyanotype artist Anna Atkins, was a botanist and one of the first female photographers. She was one of the first photographers to develop the use of cyanotypes to use to be scientific images of plants. she published three volumes of Photographs of British Algae between 1843 and 1853. They were among the first ever books published with photographic images.
I love these, as the blue colour makes it look like the pictures are under the sea and you get a sense of the algae swaying in the water.
I love these, as the blue colour makes it look like the pictures are under the sea and you get a sense of the algae swaying in the water.