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| By Steph Koehnen |
In the early 1840’s,
countless scientists or scientifically-inclined men (and a few women)
experimented with chemistry to make photographic images. Sir John Herschel
developed one of the first viable and permanent processes in 1842, the
cyanotype—after the Daguerreotype, of course. He found that by mixing ferric
ammonium citrate (then called ammonio-citrate of iron) with potassium
ferricyanide and coating paper with the mixture would produce bright blue
images that could be made permanent merely by soaking in water. The ferric
ammonium citrate is the light-sensitive part of the solution and the potassium
ferricyanide gives the blue color.
The cyanotype photographic
process received short-lived popularity and was largely forgotten for almost a
century. However, its alternative use was largely popular—blueprints. Since the
cyanotype is a contact process, it works to copy notes and drawings, as well. This
process is incredibly easy—to produce a good cyanotype, abide by the following
procedure:
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| By Steph Koehnen |
1. Obtain a contact negative (a negative
the size of the desired print) or simply gather objects with interesting shapes
2. Mix solutions A and B together in
equal parts. Solution A is the ferric ammonium citrate and B is the potassium
ferricyanide (it is VERY important not to let solution B sit in the sun or any
light brighter than room-light; heating potassium ferricyanide results in the
release of cyanide gas, which is poisonous).
3. Using a crosshatch pattern, paint the
mixed sensitizer onto a piece of watercolor paper. The color will appear a
bright yellow-green.
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| By Steph Koehnen |
4. Lay the contact negative or objects
on the paper and expose in the sun. If a negative is used, a sheet of glass
will need to be laid on top to ensure proper contact and focus. Printing times
will vary from 5-40 minutes, depending on the intensity of the sun and the
temperature; bright, warm days will need the shortest times whereas cold and
cloudy days will require longer printing times.
5. Since there is no certain exposure
time, a color shift in the emulsion will be the determinant. The color of the
emulsion will change from the bright yellow-green to a deep green to a
blue-green and is finally ready when it is a light blue-gray.
6. After the exposure, simply remove the
negative or objects from the paper and immerse the paper in a bath of cool
water (65-68˚F). A yellow pigment will be released—this is the unexposed
sensitizer. Empty the water bath and refill with water; repeat until no more
sensitizer is removed from the photo or 5-10 minutes have passed. Hang the
photo to dry on a clothesline and your cyanotype is done!
James, Christopher.
"The Cyanotype Process." The Book of Alternative Photographic
Processes. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning, 2009. 148-74. Print.
Andrey Pavlov is a
Russian ant-whisperer and photographer. Each summer he moves to a cottage in
the countryside to fabricate little scenes and photograph ants at work. He
watches how the ants work each day, what lines they take and patterns they use,
and then he adds small props he makes or finds into those lines and patterns to
see what they do. The scenes are staged, but the reactions of the ants are
authentic. He says ants are naturally curious creatures, which greatly helps
his work. Pavlov was inspired to photograph ants at work when he started
reading his young children fairy tales, which is something he never did as a
child. For more of Pavlov's amazing images, look here.
