Some images about disease inspired by peripheral artery disease and claudication . Mixed media.
Imitating an old greeting card.
(Best greetings from the smoker’s valley. Befort is a locality in Luxembourg. Beefort means leg away.)
Reusing a CT.
CT and medical stamp of the human figure.
Cyanotype which after development was toned with black tea (Ostfriesentee).
Bleached with borax and than toned with black tea (Ostfriesentee).
Cyanotype bleached in diluted Rodinal solution and afterwards toned with black tea (Ostfriesentee). (–> Black)
—–
Same negative, same paper (Boesner LineArt224 ) and same sensitizer solution (J. M. Eder: Rezepte, Tabellen und Arbeitsvorschriften für Photographie und Reproduktionstechnik, Verlag von Wilhem Knapp, Halle (Saale), 1942, 18.-19. Auflage, p.225).
Exposure times vary: 4′, 2′ and 5′ .
My penny plain contact print frame, front and rear view.
Materials needed:
A glass plate, cardboard of the same size as the glass, 4 clamps and some tape.
The cardboard is cut halfway through and reinforced on the back by some tape.
Open contact print frame for inspection of progress.
Some links to more elaborate DIY constructions:
@ Youtube
A concise handout about the process get started ( workshop on cyanotype):
cyanotype-manipulations (PDF:)
Sir John Frederick Herschel and his invention/discovery of cyanotype:
Mike Ware: John Herschel’s Cyanotype: Invention or Discovery?
International Photography Hall of Fame: Sir John Frederick William Herschel
Kshitij Nagar: Sir John Herschel: How Photography Got Its Fix
Chemistry and Light: Cyanotype process
Anna Atkins
Encyclopaedia Britannica: Anna Atkins English Photographer and Botanist
The Guardian: Blue prints: photography pioneer Anna Atkins’s hand-crafted images – in pictures
see also references in: Cyanotype – In the footsteps of Anna Atkins
Prussian blue:
Amercan Chemical Society: Molecule of the Week – Prussian blue
Alexander Kraft: On the Discovery and History of Prussian blue
John Griswold: The Accidental Color That Changed The Course Of Art
There are numerous internet sites which propose how to produce a digital negative.
Some links:
MP Photography (especially cyanotype)
Eyes On Photography (especially cyanotype)
and more.
And of course on paper see references in previous post.
A concise handout to get started ( workshop on cyanotype):
négatif-numérique (PDF)
Use adjustable coathangers and hang the sensitized paper in a coat closet protected from light .
This technique is especially usefull for sensitized textile. The lower hanger may be weighted for stretching!
An alternative is to use a paper box with an iron plate at the base. Small magnets keep the paper in place and prevent buckling (depends on number of magnets and the humidity of the paper). Be carefull not to touch the sensitized part and cover the iron plate with some plastic (e.g. plastic bag) to prevent unwanted chemical reactions.
An further option to produce a negative for alternative printing is the cliché verre. This art form was “en vogue” at the Barbizon School, notably Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and Charles-François Daubigny. Cliché verre dates back to Fox Talbot. Later to Barbizon interest was lost in this technique which is midway to printmaking and photography. The reason here for are explained extensively in this article by Thomas Ketelsen. A sketch of the history of cliché verre may be found over here.
The process to create a cliché verre is quite simple: a supporting material is covered with an opaque medium into witch the the drawing is scratched, drawn or whatever you can do to modify the opacity of the plate. One of the very first techniques consisted to smoke a glass plate with a candle (here a petroleum lamp).
The soot covered glass is scratched with a needle to draw in white lines. The negative obtained this way is used to expose light sensitive paper.
negative:
exposed cyanotype:
An alternative to this would be to cover the glass plate (could as well be some other transparent support like perspex, frosted Mylar, overhead transparency) with opaque medium: gouache, oil paint, indian ink, … and draw into this like in the soot, press an object into the still wet medium or proceed like for material printing.
The base material should present some grip so that the paint can adhere to the support.
dandelions covered with gouache on perspex:
resulting print:
Note that oil paint needs a lot of time to dry, so I would not advise to use oil paint. Instead use some water based medium.
A painting medium allows for nuances to play with.
Or a craquelure effect (uneven drying, this might be a problem) :
Further reading:
Lace is a very interesting material to use in a photogram on cyanotype paper.
String orchestra
Debauchery,sexy leftover
see also Grape leaves, a toned cyanotype of lace in the form of grape leaves.
Carlo Krier 