Mackerel (gum bichromate)

This fish seemed like a good candidate for my first attempts at gum printing –  (original digital mackerel here). Still a lot to learn / improve upon, but things seem to be going okay… so far…

Oseary Drakoulias: “…you must swear, legally swear, that you will not kill that shark, or whatever it is, if it actually exists.”

Steve Zissou: “I’m going to fight it… but I’ll let it live. What about my dynamite?”

Oseary Drakoulias: “Phillip, dynamite.”

– Michael Gambon & Bill Murray – The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

About this image: digital photograph (Canon 300D) lightly modified in Adobe Photoshop and printed in negative  – negative contact printed on 9″x12″ watercolor paper with/in gum bichromate

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Pyrus Vitrum (cyanotype)

Maybe I should start out by saying I’m not a big fan of pears. The funny thing is, I always think, “if I just give them another chance I will like them”. They look like they should be… sweeter than they are. And taste… different than they do. Also there’s something about their texture… it’s just a bit off. I think.

I did a whole  series of ‘pears’ back in the day (although I probably won’t subject you to many more of them). This image I do like quite a bit, though… it’s my one remaining ‘authentically genuine’ cyanotype! Granted these things are very, very easy to ‘fake’ in Photoshop, but… still.

This is not exactly ‘your grandfathers still life’, but please bear with me (I’ve got something a little less… bizarre for tomorrow). I’ll try limit CrAzY posts to one per week, because that, dear readers, is just how I roll.

About this  image: cyanotype printed on watercolor paper – from digital photograph/negative

Spires (anthotype)

Ever wonder what to do with that can of beets that’s been in your pantry for a decade or two? Why not make an image with it?!

Sunlight tends to fade… stuff. This is true of pigments found in flowers, fruits, vegetables, etc.  – enter the anthotype printing process (basically coating paper with photosensitive plant material and contact printing in direct sunlight). How ’bout them apples (or… beets, I guess)?

Note: Different plants require various exposure times, and (unfortunately) I know of no way to permanently ‘fix’ an anthotype from further solar ‘bleaching’.

About this image: Watercolor paper coated with beet juice – contact printed with transparency in direct sunlight (approx. 35 hours +/-)