Photography Lessons Shed New Light on Old Technique

12/17/2021

Students in Rachel Langosch’s darkroom course have been exposed to one of the earliest photographic printing processes through their study of alternative processing methods this semester.

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Cyanotypes, introduced in the 19th century, are known for their shades of cyan blue which result from exposure to ultraviolet light. They were traditionally used for blueprints by architects and engineers; photographers were also drawn to the technique for its versatility and affordability.

The campus quad became the students’ lab on Wednesday, December 15, as they worked on the final part of their cyanotypes. They began in the classroom by creating digital negatives from their 35mm film scans before going outside. “We placed the negatives on top of the cyanotype paper and pressed them inside contact printers,” Langosch explained. “Then we let the sun do its work!” The final step was a water rinse.

Langosch noted that “This process requires a lot of patience and experimentation. We are all used to the immediacy of our cellphone cameras these days, and when students are forced to slow down in this way, there is a greater sense of excitement in the moments when the image appears in the water.”

Sophia Tsoukalas ’22, who used tree leaves as her cyanotype and a digital negative of a classmate, enjoyed seeing her cyanotype develop as she put her paper in a water bath. “It was fascinating to see images I had created come together in another material,” she said.

For Lainey Spencer ’24, the most challenging part was figuring out when the cyanotype would be fully developed. “It was a cloudy day in December,” Spencer noted, “so the sunlight was not very strong.”

“The final images came out beautifully,” Langosch shared. "The students did so well and supported each other throughout the assignment.”