Van Dykes



By Steph Koehnen

Van Dykes are a photographic process resulting in a brown-toned print. It was originally patented in 1889 by Arndt & Troost, however the chemistry and process has changed significantly. Then, only a water bath was required for processing; today a diluted fixer solution and hypo clearing agent are needed. Van Dykes are not as consistent as cyanotypes—the final color varies from a orangey-brown to a deep, almost purpley-brown. They are also frustrating because brush strokes show up very easily if too little or too many strokes are used. It is sometimes hard to tell if the paper is sufficiently coated because the solution is so light sensitive that coating must be done in the darkroom under the safe light.

By Steph Koehnen

Here’s how to produce a Van Dyke:

1.      Coat a piece of watercolor paper with Van Dyke sensitizer under a red or orange safe light. It is very important to wear gloves during this step because the sensitizer will turn anything it touches brown; if it gets on your skin, have fun with your brown spot for a few weeks because it won’t scrub off.

2.      Once the paper is dry, place a contact negative on the paper and put them in a contact printing frame.

By Steph Koehnen

3.      Expose print in the sun. Times differ depending on the condition of the sunlight, varying from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. You will want to pay attention to the color change—it is fully exposed when the emulsion is a deep reddish brown.

4.      In the darkroom, put the print in a running water bath for about 5 minutes. Not doing so will result in impure light tones.

5.      Place the print in a dilute fixer—normal print fixer works in a ratio of 1 part fixer to 25 parts water. Fixer makes the image permanent. When the color of the emulsion changes to a deep brown, remove from the fixer.

6.      Place in a hypo-clearing agent for 2-3 minutes

By Steph Koehnen

7.      Wash in a running water bath for 10 minutes. Hang to dry.

For more information on Van Dykes or to see more examples, stop by the CSS photo lab in T4412 or look through the gallery at the Alternative Photography website. The above information comes from experience and Christopher James’ The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes.

James, Christopher. "The Van Dyke, B-D-V, & Brownprint." The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning, 2009. 216-235. Print.