Cyantoypes

Have you ever heard of cyanotypes? I hadn't until Karen, Tutor-To-Be, started talking to me about it in the pub on Thursday. It's one of the earliest forms of photography; the first female Photographer and Botanist, Anna Atkins, used it to make the painstaking process of detailing plant features easier!


It sounds REALLY exciting and fun. Basically, you slosh this chemical over fabric or paper, then wait for it to dry, then simply lay things on top of it and put it out in the sun for twenty minutes and there you have a cyanotype. Or Blueprint. I really want to have a go and as it's summertime it's probably the best time to have a little experiment. I've been looking about on the web at other people who have had a play with it and there are some amazing images of blankets which have images of people and bikes and things like that! You're looking at about thirty pounds for the kit, so I think I'm going to save up and have a little go! Pictures to follow...