What can you expect from Unlock your creativity with Cyanotypes workshop?

Vikki Rutter Writes : This workshop is designed primarily for beginners but can also be attended by those who want to experiment with the practice, that maybe haven’t done before.

Do you just make the classic blue image? What can you do with this? And where can you take it further during the class?

I hope to take you from the basic ingredients. How to prepare your surface, how to develop your image, and what you can do with it after. Be it toning with natural household products, foraged objects or paint.

The basic process is an image produced by exposing sensitised paper to a source of UV light (such as sunlight) as a contact print. The combination of UV light and the chemicals reduces iron(III) to iron(II). This is followed by a complex reaction of the iron(II) with ferricyanide. The result is an insoluble, blue pigment (ferric ferrocyanide) known as Prussian Blue. The exposure time varies widely, from a few seconds in strong direct sunlight, to 1-2hr exposures on a dull day.

After exposure, the paper is developed by washing in cold water: the water-soluble iron(III) salts are washed away. The parts that were exposed to ultraviolet turn blue as the non-water-soluble Prussian blue pigment remains in the paper. This is what gives the print its typical blue color. The blue color darkens upon drying.

This can then changed again with household items just as they did in the 1800s. But we will go through all this and have a go during the class.

Cyanotypes can lead in so many directions and since I learnt the basic technique I’ve been experimenting and adapting to create images that have been chosen for exhibitions in London and Spain. I have also been inspired by the work of others in the alternative photography circle and what they create. There are people who develop on stones, even an apple slice! And then there are others that have made it into a business, developing onto material and creating clothing and that is what I love about photography. It can lead you down so many different avenues.

Join me at Dark Peak Photo Festival in February to learn a new skill! Or just develop one you already have!