Let Your Light Shine was uploaded to Flickr

Paddleboarders, Lake Austin (or whatever this body of water is called these days)

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https://flic.kr/p/28eRDkF

I took Let Your Light Shine on October 29, 2012 at 01:06PM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on July 29, 2018 at 06:57PM

((stupid IFTTT triple posted this photo. Doh!!))

Cyanotype, Photography’s Blue Period, Is Making a Comeback

Lake Street Bridge During A Blizzard
Lake Street Bridge During A Blizzard – toned blue.

I’ve made digital cyanotypes as long as I’ve used the Alien Skin “Exposure” plugin for Photoshop, but I’ve never made an actual one. The faux, digital versions are much different than actual cyanotypes. I’m intrigued though, the emotional impact of a blue-toned photograph is compelling.

The Phoenix artist Annie Lopez wanted to stand out among her contemporary peers. Instead of trying to invent something utterly new, she has been turning to a 174-year-old photographic printing process — cyanotypes, once used for copying architectural drawings — and giving it her own distinctive twist.

Making a cyanotype involves placing a negative image — which could be a photographic negative, or an object, as in a photogram — on treated paper or fabric. (Ms. Lopez took from her own life and her father’s battle with Alzheimer’s, using photocopies of medical books as well as comments made by family members.) After an iron-based solution is brushed on, the paper is placed under ultraviolet light, or in direct sun, to develop.

“One of the best-selling points of this exhibition is that cyanotypes are both underrepresented and trendy at the same time,” said Nancy Burns, who organized the Worcester show with Kristina Wilson of Clark University. “It’s very hip in contemporary art, when you start looking for it.”

The cyanotype process — from the Greek cyan, or “dark-blue impression” — was invented around 1842 by the British astronomer and chemist John Frederick Herschel (1792–1871). The benefits of the format were evident from the start.

(click here to continue reading Cyanotype, Photography’s Blue Period, Is Making a Comeback – The New York Times.)

I’ve also heard cyanotypes called “sun prints”:

Maybe you remember sun prints (also known as cyanotypes) from childhood. You set a leaf or flower on light-sensitive paper and exposed it to the sunlight for a few minutes. Your parent or teacher probably rinsed the print and showed you the results as they developed. A shadow of the specimen emerged—the color of the paper shifted from white to light blue. The final result was a white or bluish-white silhouette on dark blue paper.

When I first started paying attention to cyanotypes, I loved how they rendered familiar objects and shapes as bluish, shadowy abstractions. I also wondered why they reminded me of x-rays or architectural drawings. A description of the cyanotype process from Encyclopaedia Britannica shed some light.

(click here to continue reading Celebrated Summer: Making Sun Prints with Transparencies | Britannica Blog.)

Like I said, I’ve never made an actual cyanotype, yet. The images on this post are simply “toned blue” as a reminder to myself ((like so much of my blog)) that I need to make a real cyanotype. 

Loren Squints Blue
Loren Squints Blue

You’ve Got Everything, Polapan Blue
You’ve Got Everything, Polapan Blue

Across The Evening Sky All The Birds Are Leaving - Copper Blue
Across The Evening Sky All The Birds Are Leaving – Copper Blue

Just A Restless Feeling By My Side
Just A Restless Feeling By My Side

Minister of Design and The Future, Blue
Minister of Design and The Future, Blue

Take the Blue Train
Take the Blue Train

Thistled and Scorned
Thistled and Scorned

Empty Blue Number 2
Empty Blue Number 2

Phil Looks Cold - Blue
Phil Looks Cold – Blue

Setting Up “Honoria Starbuck, Flaneuse” (copper blue) was uploaded to Flickr

Spellerberg Projects, Lockhart, TX

http://ift.tt/1naA3NM

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http://flic.kr/p/DmNTEv

I took Setting Up “Honoria Starbuck, Flaneuse” (copper blue) on January 16, 2016 at 10:46AM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on January 21, 2016 at 09:07AM

Across The Evening Sky All The Birds Are Leaving – Polapan Blue was uploaded to Flickr

fog, S. Michigan Avenue.

Polapan version

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http://flic.kr/p/o85ktZ

I took Across The Evening Sky All The Birds Are Leaving – Polapan Blue on June 26, 2014 at 07:38PM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on June 27, 2014 at 03:39PM

Fancy Tail Light – 1951 Ford (Explored) was uploaded to Flickr

closeup of standard feature on 1951 Fords, per this car’s owner. all credit should be given to Ford’s engineers, circa 1950

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http://flic.kr/p/nbi2Zv

I took Fancy Tail Light – 1951 Ford (Explored) on April 11, 2014 at 02:27PM

and processed it in my digital darkroom on April 18, 2014 at 03:02PM