Experimentation: Cyanotypes

The light sensitive paper arrived Saturday morning and seeing as the weather was suitably obliging, fabulously sunny day, I was able to play with it straight away. To start with I tried using some glass negatives to make contact prints. I popped the paper in a film changing bag to protect it from light, cut a piece of foam to place the paper on (instructions said use corrugated card but I didn’t have any!) and filled a bowl of water to use as a ‘development’ tank. The instructions suggested a two minute exposure but the sun was so strong the paper was bleached white in only twenty seconds! I tweaked to accommodate this and then placed the paper in the water for one minute to wash off the chemicals. The whole process was very quick and simple and I was really amazed by the level of detail in the results. The low contrast in one of the images produced less satisfactory results but this wasn’t a complete surprise – had similar results when using these to make contact prints in the darkroom. This is certainly something I’ll need to consider if I want to make my own negatives. I then picked some grasses to lay on the paper, placed a piece of Perspex over the top to hold everything still and exposed this to the sun. Rather liked this effect as well. The main issues I have with this process are the limitations imposed by the size of the paper – am not sure what I can do with an image at A5! On a grander scale I think this method would have enormous potential but this would mean buying and mixing my own chemicals then painting them onto the surface of large sheets of fabric or paper. Not totally averse to the idea but really don’t have the time to do that at the moment and would probably be quite expensive.

Development: Pulling Everything Together

Before I start going wild with light sensitive paper and polaroid I've decided to sit down, gather all my ideas so far and decide what I want to do with them - which to drop, which to develop etc. Firstly the drop. Am quite happy with the TTV shots I've taken. In the last session before we broke up for half-term I had a little play with photoshop (tweaked curves, contrast and added silly effects) so have a couple of variations on the theme. Quite like this one - albeit still prefer the original! Nothing else I really want to do with this so, whilst it serves as an image demonstrating the developmental process, I've probably come to a dead end with it now.

Next the feet. Have been plodding along with this one for what seems like forever. The biggest issue is it doesn't particularly fit the brief. Whilst the processes I've used tick the expected boxes (the bath is empty, the roses photocopies, the text hand written and scanned) the final image isn't really a fantasy landscape.... have been thinking long and hard about whether I should call it a day or tweak it to fit. Taking the animation I linked to the other day as inspiration I've decided to create the 'landscape' through sound effects and subtle motion. Am aware it's getting very late in the day for this but am happy with the image as it stands (albeit not quite fitting the brief) and feel even if I run out of time it would still stand as an idea I was developing. Have gone back to the freesoundproject and found a couple of appropriate audio files: I'm going heavy with the symbolism so have chosen a nightingale (love and death!) accompanied by a dripping tap. I've bunged them into audacity and created a single file so now 'just' need to tweak the image to convey a sense of movement! At the moment I'm thinking of sending the roses bobbing about and shifting the layers of text slightly... have also considered sending a couple of clouds across but haven't a clue how to do it! Will have to play with this and see how it goes. Image (with text layers) below.



The next image was the result of a failed experiment. Was trying to photocopy ink in water to use as clouds in a landscape... Unfortunately the ink just sank to the bottom and all the swirly pretty stuff was on the surface which the photocopier clearly couldn't see! Ditched it and tried pouring water slowly into the dish whilst scanning. Really liked the slightly industrial effect that resulted - felt the dish looked like a porthole and the pouring water rain. Decided to stick some figures in the 'window' but struggled to find anything suitable. I then remembered I had some scans of old photos of my grandparents. Tried one out and this was the result - am slightly biased as I love this image of my grandparents! Sent it to Steve for feedback and he sent back some suggestions as to how I could tweak it to fit the brief better. Decided I don't want to fit the brief better as I like the image as it is! Think the best option with this one would be to use it as part of a bigger image... so am going to temporarily put this one on hold!



Lastly I have a collection of images which I planned to collage together in order to create a woodland scene. The basic idea was to re-create a story I loved as a child, The Folk of the Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton, but to give it a darker twist. I have several images of derelict buildings, broken windows, drainpipes etc and also have a HDR image of Perry Wood (uploaded previously) which would have served as the canvas. The main issue I have with this one is I feel everyone seems to be going down the cut and paste route and unless done well it can look completely naff! When we were given this brief I was really keen to ditch all the technology and create effects without being dependent upon photoshop. Obviously the idea as it stands hasn't avoided that at all. Whilst I like the idea the means of producing it leaves me cold, have therefore decided to put this one on hold also.

Research: Cyanotypes & Photograms

I knew I'd end up spinning off in multiple directions! Some time ago I was talking to my other half about ways of capturing images without using a camera or having to faff about with a darkroom. At the time he suggested light sensitive paper, which I'd never heard of, but thought it would be great for a shrimp skin I have lying about (that sounds weird... it's not really lying about - I have shrimp in my fish tank and they shed pretty frequently!) I used my photocopier to capture this one...

Anyway, I digress, have now had a look for it, found it to be relatively inexpensive (£4.99 for 10 A5 sheets) so purchased a couple of packs to have a play with. The proper term for sun printing is 'cyanotype' I found a really good blog about the process by confessions of a design geek along with links to an exhibition, Shadow Catchers, that was held at the V&A. This has led me to look at the work of Anna Atkins and several other camera-less photography artists. The umbrella term for images 'made directly onto photographic paper through casting shadows, manipulating light, or chemically treating the surface of the paper' is 'photograms'. Have pasted my favourites below.

Arch (2007/08) by Susan Derges blends photograms of plants and scans of ink falling through water.



Christening Dress from My Ghosts (1997) by Adam Fuss




Anna Atkins Algae Cyanotype


Lastly there's a really good link here describing the cyanotype process.

Research: Polaroid

Need to use half-term constructively and start cracking on with alternative images for this fantasy landscape project. Won a Polaroid camera on ebay this afternoon, £20 with unused film, not a bad price considering 600 film costs about £20 anyway. Have been merrily googling for creative ways to use this format. Fun little video here which shows one, albeit somewhat limited, use.

these use the new Impossible Project film which I love...





This one, I assume, is shot through glass... not sure whether the wiggly lines were added after or not...

Development: Quick update

Still playing - but conscious I should be making more concrete decisions now. Spent yesterday afternoon taking some more photocopies of flowers - had a single rose in the garden and it was rather lovely so wanted to capture it... of course I then left it on the scanner bed and completely forgot about it so not quite so lovely this morning! Wanted to situate the feet in some way so took a shot of my bath from above. Slightly tricky as my balance is terrible and the process required a steady hand. Have also been thinking of a way of tying these ideas together in order to give the whole thing a sense of purpose... Have found a poem by Edgar Allan Poe which I think might suffice...

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee;

And this maiden she lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me.

I was a child and she was a child,

In this kingdom by the sea;

But we loved with a love that was more than love-

I and my Annabel Lee;

With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven

Coveted her and me.

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling

My beautiful Annabel Lee;

So that her highborn kinsman came

And bore her away from me,

To shut her up in a sepulchre

In this kingdom by the sea.

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,

Went envying her and me-

Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud by night,

Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we-

Of many far wiser than we-

And neither the angels in heaven above,

Nor the demons down under the sea,

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;

And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side

Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,

In the sepulchre there by the sea,

In her tomb by the sounding sea.

the sea is the bath water, the bath the tomb, the maiden - feet, love symbolised by the rose, will scoop some feathers off the lawn for the angels (our cat is ever obliging) clouds, stars etc still to decide. Wanted to incorporate text in some way so this seems an ideal way to do it - just need to decide upon the how. Anyway this is where I am ... the shadows are still troubling me and need to fine tune where the water meets the bath... work in progress I guess - watch me abandon it last minute and do something completely different!

Experimentation: More Layering

Having a quiet weekend, other half working, so I've carried on fiddling! Started with the basic blurry feet shot and added a watery layer. This is way more subtle than yesterdays efforts, I felt it needed to be less busy if I wanted to add flowers to it. Unfortunately the images I took yesterday don't really work but posting this anyway as it's a work in progress and demonstrates the problems I'm having quite nicely! I took the flower shots with flash ( feet were taken using natural light) and the colours are just too brash - didn't desaturate well either. I didn't bother finishing as I knew I'd have to re-shoot the flowers. Was quite happy with the effect of the shadows: used the lasso tool to cut out and tweaked using 'refine edge' in order to create a nice blurry shadow that wouldn't require too much tweaking when pasted. Touched up any rogue areas with the eraser tool, changing opacity where necessary. I then changed the refine edge settings on the flower to give me a crisper edge and added as a new layer. Decided I would need to re-shoot the flowers using deeper water (theory being the feet are under water so I need more depth for accurate shadows) but then found with the water deeper the shadows are miles away and don't have quite the same nice effect! Realism/artistic license dilemma beckons! Shall have a play and see what happens...

Experimentation: Playing with Layers

Really like images that are quite distorted, blurry and out of focus... remind me why I'm bothering to do a photography course! Took this one the other day - not particularly complicated just feet ceilingwards and snap at a slow shutter speed whilst moving... rather liked the effect though and thought I would have a play with it. Used the TTV image I took in Perry Wood the other week and just added it as a new layer. Desaturated and tweaked to achieve subtle detail. Never one to leave anything alone I then decided to add water (that would be the Hockney swimming pool influence!) Took another shot of my feet in water and applied this as a new layer... bit of a faff as was difficult to achieve the level of detail I wanted in the water without completely losing the detail in the feet... also lightenend it up a bit as the final result seemed a little dark. Was initially planning to add my copier flowers (have bunged these on flickr - link to the right of this post) and also took images of the flowers in water to check shadows but seemed a bit busy so discarded... may well revisit this later!