Sun Printing
Cyanotype
Impressions
“The Pencil of Nature”
Anna Atkins(1799-1871)
• English Botanist
• Father George Children was a Scientist
• First Woman to Publish a book entirely of
Photographs
• No hand drawn Illustrations
• She wrote letters back and forth to Henry Fox
Talbot the inventor of Photography
• She learned about the Cyanotype method from
the scientist Sir John Herschel a family friend
Algae: Cyanotype Impressions
• Published in 1843
• Used Photography as
an accurate medium
for scientific
Illustration
Algae
Algae: Cyanotype Impressions
• This Reference book
took 12 years
• Contains over 400
prints
• Only 12 of these
books exist and can
be viewed in a British
Museum
• The photos are still in
good condition
Cyanotypes of British and Foreign
Flower Plants and Ferns (1854)
• Cyanotype also
known as Blue Print
• She called her work
Horse Tail
Cyanotypes of British and Foreign
Flower Plants and Ferns (1854)
• Can you guess what this is?
Cyanotypes of British and Foreign
Flower Plants and Ferns (1854)
What is a Cyanotype Photo ?
• A Blue Print Process
• Paper is coated with
an Iron Salt solution
(potassium
ferricyanide) and
Ammonium Citrate
• An object is fixed on
this paper (Surface
Negative) under glass
How it works
• When exposed to Sun Light a chemical
reaction occurs
• The paper is washed and removes the
exposed chemical area
• This results in a white image on a deep
blue background
• This image is the “positive” or outline of
the object used.
Do Photographers Still use the
Cyanotype Process Today?
• Certainly - it is inexpensive
• You don’t need a dark room
• Some Artists hand coat or “Paint” the
sensitized paper
• Some Artists coat other mediums such as
wood or Cloth
• Many use actual Photo Negatives on
sensitized paper
Linda McCartney 1941-1998
• A Contemporary
Photographer
• Wife of Paul
McCartney of The
Beatles
• Sunprints A book of
photographs
influenced by 19th
Century printing
Zeva Oelbaum
“Blue Prints”
• First book of photographs
• Uses the cyanotype process in modern
times
• Uses her “Negatives” and exposes them to
natural light on sensitized paper.
Some Terms to Remember
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Negative
Positive
Shadowgraphs
Blueprint
Symmetry
Principle of art Line and Texture