Three Agapanthus 1 - Limited Edition of 1 Photograph by Christine So

Photography: Photogram on Paper.

It is June, the month when the agapanthus flower blooms in California. This cyanotype was created by placing living flowers from my backyard in a different composition each time on the photosensitive paper. It is unique cyanotype of which there are no other identical copies. This is a one-of-a-kind print but in a series of prints with the same plant name.

Original cyanotype made with living plants. There are no other editions of each print as each image was composed laying the plants by hand and they have long since withered.

A cyanotype is a unique print made using a photographic process from the 1850s in which iron salts on paper react with sunlight resulting in a photogram or sunprint. Sun and water are the developers. Objects must be placed directly onto the chemically treated paper where their shadows or semi transparency create the image.

Each exposure happens in sunlight and the result once the print is washed and developed is a bit magical and hard to fully predict. That element of surprise each and every time is what attracts me to the process. Timing is everything. It’s printmaking without a printing press. It’s photography without a camera. Cyanotypes are like a cross between printmaking and x-rays.

Cyanotypes can be made once the light-sensitive chemicals are dry on the paper, or alternatively, exposed to light while the chemicals are still wet, resulting in a more liquid blurry effect. Objects can be taken away or added during exposure time to create different shades of blue. Other agents can be added to alter the traditional cyan blue image as well.