Rajhrad Monastery EntranceReference B&W Photo In today's seventeenth article on cyanotypes I am sticking with a single photograph but am exploring the different looks one gets by choosing different papers. The photo was originally photographed with a 35mm Nikon FE camera on Fomapan 400 black and white film and developed in Fomadon LQN. For reference, I am including a thumbnail of the original black and white photograph here.

Nikon FENikon FE, 24mm f/2.8 As I walked around the old monastery there was a lot to photograph. There are areas that talk to what the life at the monastery is like, there are beautifully renovated sections, and there are sections that still need a lot of help. The main entrance is part of the renovated building and is truly beautiful. I had no doubt that it needed to be photographed.  The entrance and the whole area around the monastery provided a perfect subject matter for the old camera and a black and white film. And yes, as with all of my trips to the Czech Republic this one was no different and a Czech-made Fomapan 400 was the perfect capture medium.

Throughout my cyanotype printing I have confirmed the basic aspect of paper selection that seems to be a common sense. If you want details go for smooth paper. If detail is less important gentle or even a rough texture can be introduced. Some papers render clear white highlights and some pull them back a bit.

Rajhrad Monastery EntranceSmooth Watercolor Paper Cyanotype

Rajhrad Monastery Entrance, Czech Republic, An Original Hand-Made 5" x 7"  Smooth Cyanotype
Chemically Printed on a Hand-Coated Smooth Watercolor Paper

When I started with cyanotypes I was looking at them as an alternative process to darkroom. And since darkroom prints come out with plenty of detail I wanted my cyanotype prints to be more lo-fi. Thus I immediately gravitated to papers with a lot of texture. I also did not care about a smooth coating of the sensitizer and instead intentionally used less of it and made sure my brush strokes left visible trails. I still love that rough look of a contrasty print on the Shizen Design watercolor paper but I have also tried to match paper to the photograph.

Rajhrad Monastery EntranceTextured Watercolor Paper Cyanotype

Rajhrad Monastery Entrance, Czech Republic, An Original Hand-Made 5" x 7" Textured Cyanotype
Chemically Printed on a Hand-Coated Textured Meeden Watercolor Paper

While some photographs lend themselves really well to the lo-fi look others need their contrast a bit more balance. Losing the midtowns can mean losing the picture. And the same goes for the texture. Some photos have enough large defining features that losing the fine detail in the texture is alright or even better as the content gets simplified down to the basic building blocks.

Rajhrad Monastery EntranceRough Textured Shizen Design Watercolor Paper Cyanotype

Rajhrad Monastery Entrance, Czech Republic, An Original Hand-Made 5" x 7" Rough Textured Cyanotype
Chemically Printed on a Hand-Coated Rough Textured Shizen Design Watercolor Paper

Today's photo is an example of one that seemed to work really well across all of the paper choices. The opening print shows the pure whites of the smooth (and the cheapest here) watercolor paper, Meeden watercolor pulls the highlights back slightly so while some details are lost due to the paper texture others are added as the highlights are brought in.

On that note, yes, I could have played more with the curve for my negatives to insure no highlights are lost but I did not. I still like to lean into the lo-fi look and let each print do its thing. Some work, some don't. Maybe overtime I will do some more tweaking but I definitely do not want to lose the surprise factor and the counterbalance to today's digital perfection. After all, If I wanted these to be perfect I could either go back to the darkroom, or even simulate the cyanotype blues with an inkjet print.

Rajhrad Monastery EntranceDeckled Edge Watercolor Paper Cyanotype

Rajhrad Monastery Entrance, Czech Republic, An Original Hand-Made 4" x 6" Deckled Edge Cyanotype
Chemically Printed on a Hand-Coated Egyptian Cotton Deckled Edge Watercolor Paper

The print on Egyptian Cotton is more new to me, I have just started experimenting with that. I definitely like the deckled edges on this variety as it adds to the lo-fi and an old-time look. Unlike my usual 5" x 7" prints this one is 4" x 6" and I do not make smaller negatives for it. I place it under the negative so that it further crops into the picture without losing critical features along the edges.

Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy

Previous posts in the Cyanotypes series: 1. First Cyanotype - 2. More Cyanotypes - 3. Highlands Cyanotypes - 4. How do Cyanotypes Happen? - 5. Cyanotypes V: Tweaking the Curve - 6. Cyanotypes VI: Toning - 7. Cyanotypes VII: More Toning - 8. Cyanotypes VIII: Toning Different Papers - 9. Cyanotypes IX: Horní Rozsíčky - 10. Cyanotypes X: From Black and White or Color - 11. Cyanotypes XI: Moravian Countryside - 12. Cyanotypes XII: Prague Castle - 13. Cyanotypes XIII: American History - 14. Cyanotypes XIV: Gulf Shores, Alabama - 15. Cyanotypes XV: Different Take on Travel Photography - 16. Cyanotypes XVI: Nostalgic Pernštejn - 16. Cyanotypes XVII: Rajhrad Monastery Variations - 17. Cyanotypes XVII: Rajhrad Monastery Variations

If you like cyanotypes, you can explore the Cyanotypes Photo Gallery dedicated to my growing collection of them. Would you like to browse through traditional darkroom wet prints? Visit my Darkroom Photo Gallery and enjoy!

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