Today I was having fun creating cyanotypes.
I bought a 2-part chemical kit (Part A = ferric ammonium citrate, Part B = potassium ferricyanide) a couple of weeks ago, today was the first time I’ve tried it.
I decided to do all of the “darkroom” work in our bathroom – no windows, LED lights, so no UV light emissions.
First, I prepped the sheets of A5, 200gsm watercolour paper I had bought. This involved mixing the chemicals in equal parts and spreading the mixture evenly onto the sheets of paper. Then the paper had to dry. The first 3 sheets that I prepared were coated with quite a thick layer of chemical – probably too much. The next 9 sheets were given a much thinner coating.
Once the paper was dry, I arranged items for printing on to it and placed it under a sheet of glass to hold the items still and flat against the paper.
Then the exciting part – taking the paper with objects out into the sunshine for exposure. I left the first 3 prints (thick chemicals) out for about 45 minutes – this is probably too long. The second 3 prints (thin chemicals) were out for about 3 minutes. Then I exposed a single sheet for about 45 seconds – this is probably too short.
After exposure, I took the prints back to the “darkroom” and removed the objects from the paper. The paper was then rinsed thoroughly for several minutes to remove all unreacted chemicals. It’s quite exciting watching the images appear.
The prints were then left to dry. I’m very pleased with the results and look forward to creating more!
Exposure has just begun – the colour change from the initial yellow/green is very quick 
Ready to remove objects – after a 3 minute exposure 
Objects removed in the “darkroom” 
Rinsing begins
Before taking to the sun – you can see the colour of the unexposed paper 
Before removing the doily – after a 45 second exposure
45 minute prints drying 
3 minute & 45 second exposures, drying
My favourite prints…
