Cyanotype printed from a negative, ca. 1887–1901
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This photograph is a cyanotype made between 1887 and 1901 that captures a scene of people climbing rocks overlooking a body of water.
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2020-11-21T19:17:28-08:00
This photograph is a cyanotype made between 1887 and 1901 that captures a scene of people climbing rocks overlooking a body of water. It was made by coating a paper with a light sensitive chemical formula, placing a negative taken with a camera on top of the sensitized paper, exposing it to sunlight, and finally fixing the image. The final product is a positive of the original image. This photographic process is distinguishable for its blue color resulting from the chemicals used to sensitize the paper. The cyanotype was favored over the daguerreotype for its easy transportation and storage, cheaper price, and ability to be reproduced and incorporated into books since it was made on paper rather than metal plates. The cyanotype was not nearly as detailed as the daguerreotype, but prints like these are remarkably stable and easier to preserve. Despite the major differences between the two processes, both the daguerreotype and cyanotype required images to be exposed, developed, and fixed from further development.
This type of cyanotype differs from a variation of the cyanotype known as the photogram. Unlike the cyanotypes made from negatives, photograms are characterized for not requiring the use of a camera. Photograms are made by placing objects directly on top of a sensitized paper, rather than negatives, and exposing the assembly to sunlight. The resulting image is a negative rather than a positive because the blacks and whites are inverted.
