Black & White Photography - September 2015 UK

69

B+W

Many pressed and preserved floral specimens lend themselves

naturally to any of the contact printing processes, as this

example shows. Made with a simple off the shelf salt printing

kit, this seedhead was sandwiched in a clipframe over a sheet

of sensitised paper and left to print out. For digital

photographers, you could also scan such an object on

a flatbed scanner then tweak in Photoshop before making

an inkjet print on cotton paper.

Evoking the floral specimens collected by Anna Atkins in the 1840s,

the cyanotype process can be put to good use when you are out on

location, if you’ve got a trip planned for the drier summer months.

Reacting to strong sunlight, cyanotype printing out paper can be

made simply using a kit and requires no special equipment or

darkroom. Great for capturing living blooms and especially effective

at drawing sharp outlines, as this example shows. Pre-sensitise

your paper before your visit, then make your prints in the field.

PRINTING IN THE FIELD CONTACT PRINTING PRESSED FLOWERS

PROJECT OUTCOME

Aim to create a single image that sums up a person, place or thing, as this example created out of the contents of an

old shoebox found in the loft. When complete, show your work to friends and family and see their response.

INSPIRATIONAL

ARTISTS TO

LOOK AT

Anna Atkins’ book

Photographs of British Algae:

Cyanotype Impressions is

tricky to find but there is

a Kindle publication of her

work available online.

Michael Shanks’ Ghosts

in the Mirror project can

be seen here:

archaeographer.com

Abelardo Morell’s inspirational

work can be seen here:

abelardomorell.net

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