Melding Lost Arts with New Visions
Recently I have been exploring historical photographic techniques.
The cyanotype process, also known as the blueprint process, was first introduced by John Herschel (1792 – 1871) in 1842.
In the early days the paper was coated with iron salts and then used in contact printing. The print was developed in the sun or using ultraviolet light, then the paper was washed in water and resulted in a white image on a deep blue background.
The Salt Print technique was created in the mid-1830s by English scientist and inventor Henry Fox Talbot. He made what he called "sensitive paper" for "photogenic drawing" by wetting a sheet of writing paper with a weak solution of ordinary table salt (sodium chloride), blotting and drying it, then brushing one side with a strong solution of silver nitrate.
The final print will have a sepia toned color. Applying the emulsion to the paper in different ways can create interesting textures. Depending on how long your exposure of the paper is to sunlight, will determine how dark, light or contrasty the print will be.
Above is a digital negative under plexiglass exposing the paper beneath it to the sun.
Above is an experiment in progress. My goal is to fuse drawing, painting, and digital esthetics with the photography world of the past, thereby bridging lost arts with new visions.
Developing the cyanotype with water.