blueprint

Palms on the Back (print)

*Palms on the Back*
Cyanotype on Bockingford HP 300gsm
Model : Lia

I really loved the original photo for this double exposed back, and I think the cyanotype gives it a slightly gritty poetry that only adds to its beauty. What do you think ?

Half a Nymph (in Blue)


*Half a Nymph (in Blue)*
Cyanotype on Brockingford 300gsm HP
Model: Lia

I’m working hard on producing all the prints for the two exhibitions I have planned in late April (Children of Mekong) and mid-May (Blue Lotus Gallery). I did this print of Half a Nymph on Monday night, and I like it a lot. The slight blur in the flowers (because of wind when I shot them) is actually enhanced by the dreamy quality of the cyanotype. I think…

Frameless Fracture

*Fractured Silhouette*
Cyanotype on Bockingford HP 300gsm
Model: Sarah

Lately I have tried to work on my cyanotype frames or lack thereof. Careful coating was not something I worried too much about at first, but I’m a lot more precise now. For two of the three prints that I prepared for the Children of Mekong charity exhibition, I went with « no frames ». I really like the end results on this Fractured Silhouette.

Striped

*Striped*
Cyanotype on Bockingford HP 300gsm
Model: Jelle

With my exhibitions at the Children of the Mekong fundraiser and at the Blue Lotus Gallery coming up I have gone back to cyanotype printing, trying to address some of the issues I had. One of these was that my brushtrokes when coating were too regular which occasionally left a faint and unpleasant grid in the light background of the print. I’ve started experimenting with a more chaotic coating pattern, and I have to say I quite like the results.

Blue Ron


*Blue Ron*
Cyanotype on Fabriano Artistico 300gsm, HP, Extra White

This shot is a little more analog than the others in the series in that the initial photo was made on film. In all fairness, when I shot concerts (and, I hope, when I can do so again) I did most of it on digital. The conditions in (mostly) badly lit jazz clubs make shooting on film really tricky, and I have nothing but admiration for all those concert photographers from the heyday of jazz. But this one of soul-blues singer Ron Smyth and it’s one of the few concert shots I have that I think feel truly universal. My wife really doesn’t like this huge negative space and the lack of detail, but that’s exactly what I love about this cyanotype print.

Blue Weedy Man

*Blue Weedy Man*
Cyanotype on Arches 300g HP GS paper
Model: David
Plant Texture: Ferula communis (?)

What I loved about the original photo of David that I shared last week is how menacing it looks (especially when you know how sweet David is), and by darkening the overall mood, the deep blues of the Arches paper cyanotype made it, if anything, even more menacing.

Lit by Blue Leaves

*Lit by Blue Leaves*
Cyanotype on Bockingford 300g HP White
Model: Madline
Plant Texture: Palm Tree Leaf

Before I started the Human Nature(s) project I had never shot nudes. The part that I did not anticipate is the importance of self-assurance on the model’s part, never easy at the best of times (if I had a dollar for every time someone I was shooting had told me « I don’t look good on photographs »…) but even harder when the model is nude. And yet self-assurance and boldness delivers stunning pictures, as exemplified by this amazing portrait of Madline… I think the cyanotype adds to the softness to great effect.

Daniel Blue Leaves

*Daniel Blue Leaves*
Cyanotype on Bockingford 300g HP White
Model: Daniel
Plant Texture: Sansevieria trifasciata

This was the photo from the very first Human Nature(s) shoot that convinced me that there was something there. I’ve tried several cyanotypes of it and feel like I’ve finally made it justice in blue.

Blue Laurel Crown

*Blue Laurel Crown*
Cyanotype on Bockingford 300g HP White
Model: N.
Plant Texture: Mixed Ferns

From the start of the Human Nature(s) project I’ve had some favourite photos, and this is one of them. I love the way the texture falls on N.’s face and hair, I love the deep shadows on her shoulder, I love everything about it.

Blue Leaf Armour

*Blue Leaf Armour*
Cyanotype on Bockingford 300g HP White
Model: Romain
Plant Texture: ?

I think it was this 2019 shot that made me realise, or rather fully internalise how the double exposure was going to work. Lighting from the top, the texture shows on the face, but the facial features are still apparent. But as the light fades, the texture takes over. This is a full frontal nude shot, believe it or not.