First attempt at cyanotype printing at home. I had previously taken a one-day course at The Photo Parlour, Nottingham, but also picked up a copy of Christina Z Anderson's book Cyanotype: The Blue Print in Contemporary Practice, and Jill Enfield's Guide to Photographic Alternative Processes. There are numerous recipies for cyanotype solution and I've had the best results with Enfield's approach. My biggest mistake was buying the wrong kind of watercolour paper, which had been treated with something that meant the cyan washed away. I also made myself a series of printing frames (below) with which to expose the prints to sunlight.
The frames are easy enough to make - essentially a picture frame design with a brace and wedge system in the back to hold the backing board in place. My tutor used cheap A4 clip-together picture frames which worked very well, but I decided to make a series of frames with the added benefit of a hinged back board that allows you to easily open the frame and check on development without disturbing the print.
Initial results were mixed, but effective. I was able to print negatives onto acetate using specalised acetate for laser printers. The quality of the negative print wasn't great, but good enough for experiments. Ideally you need a contrast-y negative to get the best impression.
A traditional silver print developed on the one-day introduction to silver print and cyanotype at The Photo Parlour, Nottingham.
I really liked how this one came out, but was also a lesson in using the wrong type of watercolour paper as it eventually washed away to almost nothing.