Richard Rankin Photography
- Cyanotypes - this is one of the earliest methods of photographic printing. Although it uses ferricyanide, this is actually a relatively safe set of printing chemicals to use. This is an iron based method of printing as opposed to the prevalent modern method of silver printing. The print size is the same as the negative size. Sometimes the prints are bleached back using TSP (trisodium phosphate - commonly used to clean oil from walls prior to painting them) to a more yellow colour and then sometimes stained/coloured using tea and coffee.
Selected papers are handcoated with sensitising solution, dried, then exposed in contact with the negative in a contact printing frame. The images below were made using sunlight only, not with electric UV sources. The completed prints are then washed in water a few minutes to 'develop' them and dried. Extended washing periods are not required with this non-silver gelatin process.
Cyanotype made from 8x10 negative.Print size 8x10 inches. Bleached and stained in tea. Lens pre-1900
Cyanotype made from 8x10 negative. Handcoated linen paper, print size 8x10 inches. Lens pre-1900
Cyanotype made from 8x10 negative. Handcoated linen paper, print size 8x10 inches. Lens pre-1900
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