Celebrating Alternative Photography: Cyanotype Prints with Ashok Viswanathan

By: Ashok Viswanathan – FFIP, EFIAP.PPSA

Cyanotype is one of the earliest printing processes, dating from 1842 by Sir John Herschel, shortlyafter the discovery of photography. It was the first permanent printing process and has a smallfollowing even today. It is easy to do and the results are beautiful and long-lasting. It was first usedby Anna Atkins who used the technique to document botanical specimens to make a book. It was apopular process for a short time and then died as other newer processes were invented.
Cyanotype prints are made using large format negatives that are contact printed to a paper coatedwith UV-sensitive chemicals. It can be exposed using sunlight or a UV light source of 10-50W.Exposures are by trial and error, but if using a UV light source it's possible to establish a baseexposure and then adjust for the negative density. The resultant print is bright blue or darker shadesdepending on the exposure. There is no “correct” exposure and the right exposure is the ...