Have you ever heard of Cyanolumen printing before? I hadn't until my friend told me she had started experimenting with this technique and I am completely blown away by the results.
Instead of coating a sheet of watercolour paper which you would use to make a traditional cyanotype you use a piece of photographic paper. Simply coat the paper with the cyanotype solution (you can dry it or leave it wet) and then place your objects on top and place them into a contact printing frame.
The exposure on the two images below was 3.5 hours and they were outside through sunshine, snow and thick clouds. Tuesday we had all of the weather!
Once you are happy with the exposure and have removed all of the items from the paper it needs to go into the wash first before fixing. I just used tap water to wash the print and it takes longer than you think. Once the water was running clear off the print it went into the fix and thats when the tones and colours of the image change. I fixed this print for 10 minutes and then placed it back into a wash bath for another 15 minutes.
For a first attempt I am so impressed with this printing technique. I can't wait to start experimenting with different photographic papers and objects. It's just another one of those simple and beautiful techniques. Thank you to whoever developed this process!
Print by Laura Boffin - 6th April 2021
Print by Laura Boffin - 6th April 2021