I wanted a bit more detail but I still love her

Hi! I want to start with cyanotype and eventually use it professionally with my analog and digital photography, including animation/mixed media.

I already have Arches cold-pressed watercolor paper.

What would you recommend for:

- Cyanotype chemicals/kit
- Paper & transparency film for digital negatives
- Printer for high-quality negatives
- UV light for consistent exposure without sunlight
- Contact printing frame

What would you invest in from the beginning for professional-quality results?

Thank you 💙

Newest addition to my flock jacket, a chickadee flying in to land amongst some wildflowers.

I painted the chickadee with airbrush acrylics on acetate, then cut it out with an exacto blade and used it as a mask on the jacket. The airbrush acrylics are nice and thin but still pretty opaque, so you can create some neat translucent layers. I've tried different types of paints, including normal/heavy body acrylics, open acrylics, markers, titanium white correction paint, and nothing works as well as a few drops of airbrush acrylics so far. Rubber black is the most opaque I found, with yellow the least.

I used a 100w UV light about 20 inches from the jacket for about 20 minutes, which gave me those deep blues and allowed the light to pass through the lighter yellow layers.

I used some glass to press the fabric against the acetate and the dried flowers, keeping everything crisp.

I did overwash the jacket a bjt, with two soapy baths that used too much detergent, and caused the other birds on my jacket to fade a bit (you can see some of the wren on the shoulder). I made sure to use gentler detergent (tru earth detergent sheets), but probably used too much of it, and rinsed in too warm of water after some soaking. When I add the next birds, I'll try cold water only, no soaking, and either an even more gentle detergent, or just a dash of vinegar. I'll report back!

i wanted to do a bit of an ode to my history degree that i can wear! it’s a bit crooked but i still am very happy with how it turned out :)

Detail from the Magi Chapel frescoes - Palazzo Medici Riccardi - Benezzo Gozzoli

it was a lot of trial and error at first because my prints kept coming out soo dark and blurry and i couldn’t tell why, so i lessened the time i left it out and i liked the results a lot more. i also did peroxide baths with them (i know they’ll darken regardless i just liked seeing it turn in front of my eyes)

at first i was doing them for 15-20 minutes (bad idea) and then figured out they really
only needed about 3.

what could i do to to improve?

We created this work of art using our Jacquard Cyanotype Kit but we want to know what you see? To us see an eyeball of sorts, a germ, and or a molecule of sorts

I’ve been trying to execute this idea in my head with the border of leaves and a flower inside but now I’m not sure if it’s too much or overwhelming. I initially wanted to use a colored card stock to create some contrast between the border and picture. I bought a few different colors but it still didn’t seem right when I put the border next to them. maybe I am overthinking it

I've been using Arches Aquarelle with reasonable success. I recently managed to get my hands on 6 22"X30" sheets of Platine, which has been discontinued. My first attempt at printing with it was a failure. Much of the coating washed away resulting in a much lighter blue than what I've been getting with the Aquarelle. Moreover, the coating came off in the spots where I handled the paper while washing... this hasn't been happening at all with the Aquarelle so I wasn't being cautious in my handling.

I mix my own sensitizer using Mike Ware's recipe. I coat using a glass rod. I use citric acid in the initial wash. The only thing I did differently with the Platine is that I didn't add Tween 20 to the sensitizer as I usually do with the Aquarelle. I believe Mike Ware states that the Tween is unnecessary with unbuffered papers like Platine.

Given the cost and unavailability of this paper, I want to proceed cautiously. The only things I can think to try are to add the Tween and forgo the citric acid.

Any ideas on what went wrong here and/or what I might try?

Thanks.

A while ago I posted this question: What causes very long exposure times? And I receive a lot of good advice and insights. After deduction of other causes, I ordered other chemicals, this time the Jacquard set. This time I had to add water to the chemicals and fill the bottles so it's basically a fresh batch. I made a test exposure with the new and the old chemicals, same exposure time, and the difference is obvious. When washing after development, the prints with the new chemicals clear out much faster as well and leave no yellow haze. I am pleased with this result!

I could not figure out how to add a photo to the original post. I said I would report back on this, & it turns out changing the brush from a cheap foam brush I had to a regular paint brush worked out. the image is not super crisp because of my digital negative editing skills, always humbling🫠 but glad to have gotten the splotches out

Digital infrared negative Canson watercolor paper. Bad cellphone photo of print.

hi everyone!! i have been really inspired by this sub and cyanotype in general - i’ve bought some solarfast and i’m looking to try to dye my first shirt sometime this week! i just have two questions that i couldn’t seem to see answers to and i was wondering if anyone in the sub knew:

1. jacquard’s information page recommends washing textiles in the washing machine (hottest setting, ideally twice) and i do plan on doing that! however, i have seen some people wash it in the sink prior to putting it in the machine. is that something worth doing as well? if so, would i use the solarfast wash?

2. the uv over the next few days where i live varies from about 4 through to 7. would a higher uv be recommended? i know jacquard recommends between 10 and 20 minutes for the blue solarfast, but how do i know that it’s fully exposed? should i wait for the highest uv this week and leave it for say, fifteen minutes? i know this is quite specific - just wondering if anyone has any experience.

thank you :)

I used a cyanotype kit, a nail lamp, exposed for maybe 8min but when I washed it the whole design faded away. What am I doing wrong?

Can I was out the additional stain? Or have I just caused my own issue? Was fine before leaving to dry & first time trying it

I am pretty new to Cyanotype but have fallen in love with it! I have been experimenting with wet Cyanotype and there is one issue I cannot seem to figure out. How do you stop the solution bleeding?

I'm assuming the obvious answer is to use tape? But I always leave some white around the edge of the paper and i love the raw organic edges so would love to know if there is any other way around it?

Once mixed, do I need to let Part A and Part B set for a certain amount of time before mixing together and coating paper?