Exhibition Pinhole

After all the experiments with (small) pinholes we had, we decided to build a bigger one. To be honest, when compared with the previous ones, this one is huge :)
Think it is really good so, let's go outside and test it.

Isaac's Cyanotypes

After all the research we been doing I thought to have a go and do it myself to learn the how to.

I ordered the chemicals from SiverPrint, a digital scale from Argos, "borrowed" some gloves from my work and bought some watercolour paper and tape. Simple. The trickiest part was to mix the solution A to the solution B in equal parts without the proper material.

After the first experiment I learned that the exposure times need to be of about one hour to allow for a good detailed image (which means that my first try, that was of around 30 minutes, was too dark and not very detailed) although the intensity of the sun is also a variable that not always works depending on the time.

I have done a few more after with a much better result. So, here are the pics of my experiments :)

After achieving a good result I decided to use another technique to modify the colours of the print. This technique is called Tea Toning and was used to give the print a brownish colour instead of the usual blue.

I prepared a strong solution (?lol?) of about a litre of water with 8 to 10 tea bags (normal variety, cheap Tesco kind) and let the print absorve the tea for about 2 hours. Different papers absorve the tannin of the tea differently, so it's up to you to keep on checking the prints until you reach the desired tone.

Cyanotype Prints

Cyanotype is a photographic printing method in which the end result is made in tones of blue.

For a better description of the process and history check here. The interest on this process comes from the fact that what gets printed is the light and all the shadows are kept white (or lighter tones of blue) and how easy it is to actually print something because you can just do photograms of objects placed on top of the light sensitive paper.

Fred Eerdekens

  Fred Eerdekens is a belgium artist, that creates breathtaking installations with the use of light and purposely placed objects  to reaveal these hidden texts. Fred Eerdekens hidden messages inside of his sculptures show us that something mysterious can be made once a light is shone on it. I personally find this artists work extemely fasinating as he is the way he uses a various amount of objects from plants to wire to cereal boxes to spell out words.What looks like a simple arrangement of objects takes on a whole new meaning once light hits it in just the right spot.