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- Potassium ferricyanide
- Ferric ammonium citrate (green)
- Water
- Transparent negatives or objects
The cyanotype process involves creating two solutions, Part A : 25g Ferric ammonium citrate (green) in 100ml water and
Part B : 10g Potassium ferricyanide in 100ml water. Then the two parts are combined in equal parts to create an active solution that can be used to coat onto surfaces and create prints using UV light, which are then processes with water.
- Plant Extracts
- 95% Alcohol / cheap vodka / water / olive oil
- Transparent positives
The Antotype process involves utalising the natural pigments found within plants to create emulsions that are light sensitive, in other terms fade or become bleeched over time. With this concept in mind, if you place a positive or object on top of the coated surface, different areas will be exposed at different levels than others and therefore it is possible to create a print using only plants. A diluter is not always necessary, but helps by making the pigment more of a liquid so that it can be coated more easily, I have found that alcohol based diluters also help the pigment stick to the papers more.
- leaves
- Transparent positives
Chlorophyll printing is a process that uses the natural function on photosynthesis within the leaves themselvese. The element of chlorophyll is what is responsible for the green pigmentation of leaves and photosynthesis is the process that creates chlorophyll within the plant cells. Choosing plants that usually grow in shaded areas, then exposing them to direct sunlight with a positive or object ‘sandwiched’ between the leaf and a sheets of glass. The stronger UV light levels cause the exposed areas to become bleached and lighten in colour and creating a print.
- Darkroom Paper (expired)
- Plant matter / objects
Lumen Printing simply involves placing objects onto a piece of silver gelatin photographic paper and exposing them to a UV light source, either the sun or a UV lamp. lumen prints can fixed on preference, but it is not necissary, but this will mean that the impression will continue to change on contact with light. Fixing and or developing will change the colour of the end print. it is also more environmentlayy friendly to use expired or pre exposed papers than buying new for this process. I personally expose the paper for 10 minutes and like to develop in caffenol, which brings out a dark purple/brown colouration. The fixers will lighten the print and give it a yellowish colouration
- Silver (1) Oxide
- Ammonium iron (111) citrate
- Sulphamic acid
- transparent negatives
Argyrotypes are an iron-based silver printing process that produces brown images on plain paper. The sensatiser is coated onto the chosen paper in one or more coates then exposed to UV light with a negative on top in a contact from. I found that an exposuer time of around 10 minutes worked best for me
- Egg Whites
- salt
- 28% acetic (glacial) acid
- silver nitrate
- transparent negatives
The albumen found in eggs can be used to print photos. A mixture of egg whites, salt, water and 28% acetic acid whisked together to a meringue like consistency, left overnight, strained then left to ferment for at least two weeks before it is ready to use. Paper can then be floated in the solution and dried while hanging up before being sensatised with silver nitrate, then it is ready for printing with a negative in a contact frame and UV light. A 15 minute exposure was working well for me. The prints are then processed with a quick wash, then fixing for at least 5 minutes and washing agian.
- Vitimin C
- Washing soda
- Plant matter
Phytography was a technique developed by Karel Doing in 2015, it has similar principles, but with a slight difference. Doing, developed a solution of vitamin C and washing soda to act as a sort of developing solution. This solution is used to soak plant matter, such as leaves, before they are either placed onto the darkroom paper or strips of film in a contact frame and exposed to UV light for around 10 minutes. I also found different types of papers to create differnt colourations and found gloss to be my prefrence, creating warmer toned prints comparded to pearl paper after being fixed in a fix bath and washed. I would also recommend using either expired or pre-exposed papers.
- cylindrical container with a lid
- needle/pin
- tinfoil
- darkroom paper
Measure and mark half way along the height of the container and then create a box around it between 2cm and 3cm squaredn and cut it out. Then tape the edges if you are using a sharp material like metal. Paint the inside black to help stop the refraction of light, including the lid. Then cut a square of tin foil to just bigger than the hole created. The square of tinfoil is taped on with electrical tape and then pierced with a needle or pin no bigger than 1mm. More electrical tape is used to create a shutter across the hole. The camera is now complete, it can be used to create prints directly onto darkroom paper, using the camera obscura phenomena. After the exposure, the prints areprocessed the same as normal : Dev,(stop) fix,wash of your chosen chemical
- Gelatin
- Potassium Bromide
- Potassium Iodide
- transparent negatives or a darkroom enlarger and a roll of film
The liquid light solution comes in a solidified form, so needs to be melted before use, using a hot water bath. once the solution is liquid again, it can be applied to a variety of surfaces, from standard paper to even rock and marble. A darkroom enlarger work best for printing, because this process only takes a few seconds of exposure to form a print. either a negative can be printed through contact in a contact frame under the englagers light or the image can be projected directly from the enlarger through the a piece of processed film. It is also processed the same way as darkroom paper is, with a developer, (stop), fix and wash depending on the chosen solutions that you decide to use.
- Darkroom Paper
- Water
- Flash light siurce
Watergrams are created by submerging darkroom paper in a shallow tray of water in the darkroom, then pouring, splashing, floating, etc (disrupting the waters surface). Then using a flash of light to capture an impression of the water. A camera flash, lamp or phone torch can be used, but it light needs to be on for a fraction of a second, so a camera flash is recommended when looking for consistency. The paper can then be processed in you prefered soultions. e.g. caffonol, water, fix, and water again.
- Salt
- Silver Nitrate
- transparent negatives
Salt printing is a simplified version of Albumen printing which gives of more of a matte appearence compared to the luster like appearence of albumen. Paper is floated in a 2% salt water solution and left to dry, then sensatised with silver nitrate, making it light sensitive. Then exposed to UV light in a contact frame with a negative. I found an exposeue of 10 minutes to produce good results. The prints are then processed with a quick wash, then fixing for at least 5 minutes and washing agian.
- Coffee
- vitimin c
- washing soda
Coffee, vitamin c, and washing soda to create a non-toxic developer. The caffeic acid bonds with the silver halides to develop the photos, washing soda stabilizes the Ph of the solution, and vitamin c improves the clarity/quality of the resultant images. Denatures after a couple of hours and can be poured down the sink to dispose of.