# Cyanotype



## Tuonenlapsi

I've been co-teaching a photography course in Schildt High for the past 3 weeks now. Today was the last day and we had a six-hour cyanotype workshop where each student developed their own print. It was wonderful to see the students get excited seeing their pictures appear on the paper  

Anyways, here's some of my favourites of the day's work: (sorry for the quality, these are straight out of the camera and I had little time for documenting their work)






 


 


 
(this has to be my #1 one favourite of them all!)



 


 

And this last one is my own photo which I developed just after the class:


 
spoopy, isn't it?


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## timor

Very nice ! How the negatives were made ?


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## Tuonenlapsi

timor said:


> Very nice ! How the negatives were made ?


With an accurate photo printer to almost clear film (the big ones without any light sensitive coating). Max. size was A3 so we had to combine some of them to create bigger pictures. There is specific photoshop curves and adjustment presets on the internet to get the levels right to reduce too high contrast.


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## timor

Thanks


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## terri

Terrific detail in these - lovely results!


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## Tuonenlapsi

terri said:


> Terrific detail in these - lovely results!


Thanks terri! The students were in awe when the pictures started to appear on the paper


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## timor

Probably my future, when film and paper finally run out.


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## Tuonenlapsi

timor said:


> Probably my future, when film and paper finally run out.


I can really recommend this! If you don't like the blue or if it doesn't fit the photo, you can use tea for toning. Some toners can give a b&w range too.


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## timor

If I recall correctly there are kits for some different colours available. And tonning may work well off course.


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## terri

There are kits, and toning can be easily accomplished to either change color or just cause a slight tonal shift.   I would not recommend tea, coffee, wine, or any other of these "organic" kinds of toners on an image you want to last - they do give lovely results, but are not archival at all.


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## Derrel

Wonderful! I have always been fond of cyanotypes...such a lovely process. Thank you sooooo much for doing this post! I am sure the students will always remember their cyanotype workshop and the image or images they made.


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## Tuonenlapsi

terri said:


> There are kits, and toning can be easily accomplished to either change color or just cause a slight tonal shift.   I would not recommend tea, coffee, wine, or any other of these "organic" kinds of toners on an image you want to last - they do give lovely results, but are not archival at all.


Totally agree! (only if one is seriously doing this thing. I wouldn't put too much money into toners before trying out cyanotype as simply as possible.)

Have you tried multi-layer toning? I heard it is a thing and was wondering if it is really hard.


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## terri

Multi-layer toning....?   I've not heard of that term, it sounds more like something one would do in PS or some such processing program.   I've done split toning, usually with sepia, where you dilute the bleach and pull the print before the blacks have been bleached out.   You end up with only the lighter values getting bleached, and subsequently, sepia toned but with strong blacks left in the image.   

um, there is also dual toning, toning first in one toner, rinsing/washing, then toning in another.   The effects can be really cool.

What is multi-layer toning?


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## Tuonenlapsi

terri said:


> Multi-layer toning....?   I've not heard of that term, it sounds more like something one would do in PS or some such processing program.   I've done split toning, usually with sepia, where you dilute the bleach and pull the print before the blacks have been bleached out.   You end up with only the lighter values getting bleached, and subsequently, sepia toned but with strong blacks left in the image.
> 
> um, there is also dual toning, toning first in one toner, rinsing/washing, then toning in another.   The effects can be really cool.
> 
> What is multi-layer toning?


I think it worked by first putting multiple layers of the cyanotype mix on the paper and toning between multiple times of rinsing... Anyways it must be just experimenting and nothing confirmed to work! 
I've tried the split toning, but I always end up pulling the print too late and honestly have given up. 

I might ask the chem teacher at my work to make some proper solutions for me  
(we were actually thinking about a joint course where chem students would learn mixing photography solutions and art students would then use them)


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## Tuonenlapsi

Derrel said:


> Wonderful! I have always been fond of cyanotypes...such a lovely process. Thank you sooooo much for doing this post! I am sure the students will always remember their cyanotype workshop and the image or images they made.


Thanks Derrel! I'm hoping most of them will take the Advanced Photography course, so I can get to teaching some darkroom basics.


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## terri

Tuonenlapsi said:


> I think it worked by first putting multiple layers of the cyanotype mix on the paper and toning between multiple times of rinsing... Anyways it must be just experimenting and nothing confirmed to work!



Ah, that makes sense.   It also sounds fun!    As beautiful as cyanotypes are, I've never done one, or anything like gum that involves coating/sensitizing paper.   It's on the bucket list!    The alt stuff I do are processes that I can move into after obtaining regular darkroom prints.

Have fun with your students - I hope they do sign up for your Advanced Photography course!


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## Tuonenlapsi

terri said:


> Tuonenlapsi said:
> 
> 
> 
> I think it worked by first putting multiple layers of the cyanotype mix on the paper and toning between multiple times of rinsing... Anyways it must be just experimenting and nothing confirmed to work!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Ah, that makes sense.   It also sounds fun!    As beautiful as cyanotypes are, I've never done one, or anything like gum that involves coating/sensitizing paper.   It's on the bucket list!    The alt stuff I do are processes that I can move into after obtaining regular darkroom prints.
> 
> Have fun with your students - I hope they do sign up for your Advanced Photography course!
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot  I really recommend this technique, it's so cheap too compared to regular darkroom stuff -- as for basics you need only one chemical!


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