The Stirchley Observation Project exhibition took place at the Old Print Works in Balsall Heath. On the last day, Francesco Falciani had arranged for a cyanotype printing workshop led by Tracey Thorne to take place.  Tracey is a documentary photographer with a particular interest in the colonial links between Jamaica and Britain. Tracey’s enthusiasm for cyanotype printing shone through in her presentation. Her PowerPoint covered the history of cyanotype and highlighted the work of contemporary artists, including some fascinating examples of large-scale printing. She has woven cyanotype into her documentary practice, including her current project Intended for Jamaica, which she also spoke about.

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Tracey demonstrated the cyanotype technique using dried flowers. Her website includes a detailed section on the cyanotype process, detailing the materials needed and where to find them. Tracey was generous with her time, answering questions and sharing prints of her own work.

Francesco then took over, having prepared laser-printed acetate negatives of selected photographs from the Stirchley Observation Project for each participant. For each of us he had chosen a photo.  Mine was a portrait that I had taken of Ben who worked behind the bar at the Glasshouse Brewery in Stirchley.

Francesco explained the different types of paper we would use, all of which had been pre-coated and were ready to go. He had also brought his homemade ultraviolet light box. Each of us placed our previously prepared acetate negative onto a sheet of prepared paper, sandwiched between two clear plastic plates, clipped together temporarily with paperclips. We then exposed the image under the UV light for about 60 seconds, after which we rinsed the paper in clean tap water. Watching the deep blue tones gradually emerge was a highlight of the process.

Afterwards, we reviewed our prints and discussed the outcomes. Although the process seems deceptively simple at first, there is so much more involved—from preparing the digital image carefully in Photoshop, to choosing the correct exposure time, to selecting the right kind of paper. We had the chance to experiment with two paper types: a smooth cotton and a rougher variant. Paper selection merits further attention if you are to venture into cyanotype printing.

We spent the rest of the afternoon printing and experimenting. As a workshop, it was first-class. We were lucky to benefit from Tracey’s insight into how cyanotype plays a role in her own photographic practice, and Francesco’s meticulous preparation gave us everything we needed to immerse ourselves in the technique. One of the participants, Dom, even experimented with layering his image with toy horses, which showed how creative the method can be.

Here are more examples of the work from the participants.

This course was part of the Strichley Observation Project organised by the PRISM Photographic Network. The course leaders were Tracey Thorne and Francesco Falciani. The participants on the course whose work is shown in this blog are Nadia Malik, Dave Fennel Wells, Dominic Piras, Inderjit Deau and Damien Walmsley.

If you want to learn more about these projects that join the PRISM mailing list or visit Tracey Thorne’s website.