Cyanotypes

Cyanotypes

Potassium ferricyanide and Ferric ammonium citrate (green) are mixed with water separately. The two solutions are then blended together in equal parts.

You coat a piece of paper or material in the solution and leave it to dry in the dark.

You place an object on top of the material and the negative is produced under a UV light or light box.

Exposure time varies depending on the amount/thickness of the object placed on top.

When exposure time is up, place the negative in running water for 5 minutes to allow the white print to emerge on the blue background.

Artists

Karen Molloy

Tatiana Parniakova

My Own Photos

Exposure time 15 minutes

Exposure time 25 minutes

Exposure time 35 minutes

I tried creating my own composition. I did this in photoshop and gave an exposure time of 35 minutes.

Analysis

I really enjoyed using this process and media and I think the images that I produced using it looked really good and creative. In terms of this primary experiment of this technique, I am happy with the way my pieces turned out in the end after various exposure time trials. I would like to follow this experiment up with some further development in which I will use A3 sized images and longer exposure times. I will also try layering the images in photoshop rather than attempting to layer them once they are printed out. I believe that the work I have created fits in nicely with my theme of surrealism. The way all the different pieces are put together shows that the work isn't trying to show something specific.I think the lack of organisation and 'sense' that these images portray means that it fits nicely with my theme.