Process thread: Cyanotypes

boatdreams · #1 (**permalink**) 03-07-2009, 12:12 PM

I spent yesterday afternoon having a couple of beers and trying my hand at cyanotypes with a good friend of mine. Here's a process thread because I love process threads.

Below is the negative I made from a page in my sketchbook. I inverted it on a copy machine, touched it up a bit, and then copied it onto a sheet of acetate.

Here's me coating the paper with the appropriate chemicals. One thing I like about this process is that you can get really nice brushed edges.

We had some nice sun yesterday in Chicago, so we were off to the roof to expose our prints. Roughly twenty minutes in the sun. The yellow wash on the paper begins turning green almost immediately.

Then we rinsed the prints out in a photo tray filled with clean water and a bit of hydrogen peroxide, which apparently speeds up the process.

As the prints soak, the green and yellow begins to wash away and we're left with a cyan image of what has been exposed. To the right is my friend Logan's print, which was made from a large negative that belonged to his grandfather. Because of the dense midtones in the film, his was underexposed this time around. Logan has produced some beautiful prints by cyanotype, Van Dyke Brown, and palladium processes.

After the print has been properly hung and dried, Logan puts it into his drymount press to flatten it out.

Below are two cyanotypes that we proofed yesterday. After having decided which of the two papers I like best, I will be doing a small edition of these in the next week or so.

El Negro Magnifico! · #2 (**permalink**) 03-07-2009, 12:50 PM

Nice work!

IVARTON · #3 (**permalink**) 03-07-2009, 12:59 PM

Very nice!

My last cyanotype was this one.

Tip that I find works (but a little more work) is.
First rinse with straight vinegar. It gives you a better tonal range.
Then rinse with peroxide / water
Then straight water.

boatdreams · #4 (**permalink**) 03-07-2009, 01:13 PM

Wow, that's beautiful! I'm going to remember that vinegar tip.
I also heard that citric acid helps, too. The color on yours is brilliant, Irvarton.

IVARTON · #5 (**permalink**) 03-07-2009, 01:16 PM

Thanks! It was really old solution and I double coated it because there was so little left. I exposed it for 30 minutes on my screen exposure unit.

steve w · #6 (**permalink**) 03-07-2009, 01:20 PM

got enough booze, justin?

boatdreams · #7 (**permalink**) 03-07-2009, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve w

got enough booze, justin?

Man, I knew someone was going to say something about that! Haha, that's my friend's place. Also, his brother brews his own beer. You can see a bunch of his brewing supplies to the right of Logan in the picture.