Two-day workshop
The workshop
A sheet of paper, a photographic image and light: cyanotype makes the act of printing visible. Over two days, you will learn to prepare and print an image, then explore what happens when you begin to change its familiar blue through toning.
Day one gives you a working foundation in cyanotype and in creating digital negatives. On day two, we turn to toning. I will explain the chemistry as we work, so that the changes in your prints become something you can understand and explore further.
Ask about the next workshopWhat you’ll make
Cyanotype prints from digital negatives, followed by toning experiments to compare colour and tonal changes.
Day 1
Build a foundation in cyanotype printing and prepare digital negatives to use in the process.
Day 2
Explore how toning changes a cyanotype and learn to connect the visual result with the underlying chemistry.
The science
The course explains the role of iron-based chemistry and light in cyanotype printing. We connect that explanation to the practical work of preparing paper, exposing a print and evaluating the image.
On the second day, the focus moves to the chemistry of toning. We use the prints and experiments to discuss why their appearance changes, so you can make informed creative choices.
The history
John Herschel developed cyanotype in 1842 through his experiments with light and chemistry. The following year, Anna Atkins began publishing cyanotype images of algae, using the process to bring botanical specimens onto the page.
Their work connects scientific observation with a very direct way of making an image. In this course, digital negatives open that process to your own photographs, while toning gives you further choices about the finished print.
Contact me for upcoming dates, locations and availability.