For the past couple of years I have been exploring the possibilities of alternative, plant-based photographic methods, including cyanotype, anthotype, and chlorophyl prints. They tend to have lower (or no) levels of toxicity compared to traditional photographic methods, are more sustainable, and more accessible. Drawing on research from the Sustainable Darkroom (a UK-founded artist-run research, training, and mutual learning program), and books by Christina Z. Anderson and Annette Golaz, I’m seeking to develop a local, land-based and site-responsive practice.

Plant-based work is a beautiful way to engage in the possibilities that exist all around us, and to learn more about the land on which many of us are settlers. Photographic darkrooms are often seen as mysterious places full of complex chemistry that are only for the most skilled; easy to make mistakes and expensive to practice. However, many alternative photographic methods are very accessible in terms of cost and skill, are child-friendly, and low in toxicity. And who would have thought that you could make photographs with oak leaves, blackberries, or pond water?

The cyanotype process can be used to print negatives or to make silhouettes by placing objects on treated substrate and exposing them to the sun. Every print is unique as many variables affect the final piece including time of year, time of day, weather, solution application, temperature, humidity, and alkalinity of the water. These variables produce subtle differences in tone and colour that tie each piece to the location in which they were made. It’s also possible to tone the prints with plants to create different colours- the iron in the cyanotype binds to the tannins in the plants to make reds, greens, blacks, purples, and other colours. Tri-colour cyanotypes are made using a process of printing, bleaching, and toning in several layers.

Below are some of my experiments with toning prints, sometimes bleaching them first in a week solution of sodium carbonate to achieve different colours. I also started experimenting with chlorophyll prints on leaves. A positive (rather than a negative) on transparency is laid over the leaf and placed in the sun. The areas exposed to light become bleached as the sun interacts with the photosensitive chlorophyll in the leaf, while the unexposed areas remain green. This process has quite the learning curve, but I’ve added a few of my my successful attempts below.