Anna Atkins was know as one of the first photographer's to use cyanotypes she done a 12 part book 9British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions). She was also the first person to publish a photographically printed and illustrated book.This made her a grate pioneer and a inspiration to millions of people. The interesting thing about Anna Atkins is that she was not a photograph but a scientist a botanist also a illustrator of plants ,how she got in to taking photos is that she need good pictures of plants and this new way was the best way to get really good photos instead of drawing them. She did not use a camera but she used chemicals , paper and a ray of sun light this is called Cyanotypes (also know as blue prints). |
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She found this out after meeting a british inventor Fox Talbot who found out about this and told Anna Atkins to help her with her search. Fox Talbot did not do this invention of the cyanotypes ,astronomer Sir John Herschel who discovered when UV light was exposed to sun light a paper soaked with iron and salt liquid , it captured a blue (negative) image once it is rinsed and dried in 1842.
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If you would like to do home made Cyanotypes they are reasonably easy and cheap to do. If you coated any surface; brick walls to mattresses in the mixture of chemicals,it will work but the surface you are using must be a lightish colour (you do not need any certain equipment).
As you see I have some examples of cyanotypes which have been done on other surfaces other than paper.For example people have designed pillows and coffee mats. |
IMAGE 1
Cyanotypes are very new to me so this is the first successful attempt I have had at produces one . Using several random objects some of my own some out of a scrap box, I was able to create a descent image of shaded objects. What i like most about taking photography which chemicals and natural sunlight is that you don't really have that much control of what it is going to turn out like, yes you get to place the object where you like but the how dark the shading goes and how disfigured the objects may go you do not have control over. Thong that burnt out reasonably good i think was the shaping of the objects came out every good but you can still be unsure of what they are because you can not see the original colours. Another good thing about this image is because all the images are NOT the same shape (they do not have the same elements). |
IMAGE 2
My second attempt of making a cyanotype did not particularly go as well as I thought it would. In my opinion my first one was a lot more better, but it is all to do with trial and improvement. Several parts of this cyanotype could of been better such as the objects, the objects are quite faint and did not stand out as much as I wanted them to but however it has its advantages as the faints almost gives the effect of a multi- exposure. To improve on my next attempt of making a cyanotype I will not leave it out in the sun as long as I did, this is the course of the image being so dark. |