Turning blue with cyanotypes

As I close my eyes in the heat of the sun
the blue of the sky swims above me
feather clouds float on a pool of blue
as the birds sing so sweetly

Summer is a great time for making cyanotypes, the light is stronger, and it's more consistent for judging light exposure times.

This cyanotype is made by pouring and dripping on a light sensitive solution, a mixture of two chemicals: ammonium iron(III) citrate and potassium ferricyanide, and leaving it to dry. It gives the impression of feathers floating on water.

To create this piece I have used feathers, a stem from a plant and small wooden bird shapes. The blue of the piece is much lighter than the cyanotype above, almost a 'Wedgwood' blue. Part of what makes cyanotypes so tricky but also so beautiful is the difficulty in replicating the exact same shade of blue each time, there are so many potential variables.

The first couple of posts I did on Steemit feature the images below and were about my cyanotype work. They go into more detail about the process I use.

The first post was Cyanotypes, feeling blue?

...and How I create cyanotypes-part-2

If you have an interest in finding out more about cyanotypes, and seeing more examples of my work, then check out the links to the posts Cyanotypes, feeling blue? and How I create cyanotypes-part-2 .

You can follow me @opheliafu