Results tagged “cyanotype”

The Cyanotype process has been around since at least 1842. The invention of the process is credited to Sir John Herschel. The images it creates are based on ferric salts that create the distinctive prussian blue tone.

There are numerous websites and books that outline various recipes or how-to’s on creating Cyanotypes. This how-to is mine!

The Cyanotype I make is made with a two part chemical solution mixed in equal proportions. I purchased a kit from Bostick & Sullivan which included premixed dry chemistry in bottles that I only needed to add distilled water to make into a usable solution. Very easy!

I ordered the A and B cyanotype kit, 3 glass amber bottles with droppers, 3 extra droppers incase I need to replace them and 25 sheets of 11.5x14.5 paper. This is enough emulsion for roughly 250 4x5 contact prints and enough paper for 100 prints.. It cost me about $60 USD, very cheap if you ask me!

The formulation of parts A and B contain the following..

I've been working on learning how to use a wide variety of photographic processes. The norm nowadays is fresh out of the box factory made gelatin silver coated paper exposed under an enlarger using small negatives. The hand crafted processes that I am interested in as of late are generally referred to as Alternate Processes. All of the chemicals are coated onto paper by hand to create a light sensitive emulsion, not by a machine in a factory thus being an alternative process (apparently). A 4x5 inch negative is placed directly in contact with the emulsion of the paper with a sheet of glass on top, creating a sandwich of sorts. Even without much machinery involved this process of contact printing creates very beautiful prints.