All images are handmade cyanotypes printed on watercolor paper, some toned with coffee or tea. You can see more—and keep up with new work—on my art Instagram.
In 1842, gentleman scientist Sir John Hershel discovered a straightforward iron-based process that created permanent images in a rich range of blues: the cyanotype. It was one of the first photographic processes—the same one architects later used to make their blueprints.
Soon after the discovery, Anna Atkins, a pioneering female photographer, began experimenting with Hershel’s formula to craft otherworldly photograms with algae, feathers, ferns, and water plants, publishing the first photography book in 1843.
Like Atkins, I take the natural world as my subject, but I work with digital negatives and sometimes composites to bring a modern eye to this historically significant form. Thanks for taking a look!