Okke Ornstein

Cyanotype

Cyanotype by Okke Ornstein

Here’s what I have been working on lately: Cyanotypes. It’s one of the oldest photographic printing processes, also known as blueprints.

In short: You mix an emulsion that is sensitive to UV light and brush it onto quality paper. Then you take a film negative and lie that over the paper with a glass plate on top, and that is then placed in the sun. Once the image is exposed sufficiently, rinse in water and a Prussian blue image appears.

I’m not particularly fond of the blue color, but luckily you can tone those images with anything that contains a tannic acid. I usually use coffee.

I’m currently working on large prints to sell that I haven’t scanned yet, but here are some scans from early prints. Oh, and if you have a photo that you would like to have printed using this process, contact me.