I really enjoy printing photographs, holding the prints in my hands, flipping through them, letting my mind be triggered and go places. However, storage of large amounts of prints is definitely an issue. There is no room for that, whether in albums or in boxes. And it seems like boxes just defeat the purpose, don't they?

I also enjoy analog printing processes, whether it be a traditional wet darkroom or alternative processes like cyanotypes. Both methods require a good chunk of time and that forces me to pick and choose carefully, print sparingly, and thus it solves, at least partially, the storage issue. So far, my black and white darkroom prints fit in a single portfolio album and my mostly 5" x 7" cyanotypes go into sleeves in a large 3" binder. And both of those are easily accessible anytime I want to take a trip down the memory lane.

Bon Secour AlleyCyanotype

Bon Secour Alley, Cyanotype, Alabama, An Original Hand-Made 5" x 7" Cyanotype
Chemically Printed on a Hand-Coated Artist's Loft L2 Watercolor Paper

I also enjoy participating in various photo exchanges to send my memories around the world. My most favorite ones are the most simple ones where a single photo postcard is sent out and in exchange one received back. It's an old-fashioned version of social media. It's a bit sad that snail mail for interpersonal interaction seems to be disappearing. Yes, it takes time to prepare the photo, the accompanying text, to get the envelope ready, and to mail it out. But without that care, what is it all about? Just dumping tons of pictures into various social media sites screaming me, me, me, and wanting (hoping?) someone will come by and look at them, and I mean truly look at them, notice them, think about them, allowing them to remind the viewer of their own memories. No, that does not really happen, I am just a dreamer. More likely, someone just blows by them at a scroll speed of 5 frames per second or whatever the current average scrolling speed is.

LaundryCyanotype

Laundry, Třebíč, Czech Republic, An Original Hand-Made 5" x 7" Cyanotype
Chemically Printed on a Hand-Coated Artist's Loft L2 Watercolor Paper

Thus, today I have shared just two digital copies of two physical prints from somewhat recent travels. The first one if from our 2023 family road trip to Alabama. The Bon Secour nature preserve was very nice and I really like how the cyanotype on smooth watercolor paper turned out. I usually prefer my cyanotypes on (very) rough textured water color paper but that requires a certain vibe of photographs where detail does not matter. These wonderful trees really benefited from the opposite approach and printing on a very smooth watercolor paper. And it did not matter at all it was a really cheap one.

The second print is from 2022 and a visit to my sister's who was our guide on a day trip to Třebíč. At one point we made a left turn onto this cobblestone alley and someone was drying their laundry there. It was colorful and that initially caught my eye. About a year later I attempted my first gum bichromate print of this scene hoping to reproduce the vibrant colors in a more nostalgic subdued palette but my attempt failed completely. I am not even sure why but I probably made several mistakes along the way resulting in no usable image at all. And I must admit, despite having worked with various photo chemicals for years, I did not feel comfortable with these. Anyway, another year later and here we have the scene in monochrome blue. I picked one of the color separation negatives originally prepared for the bichromate print and used it for this cyanotype. What do you think? How do you like looking at your photographs? And how do you try to preserve them for the future?

Thanks for visiting, hope you'll be back :-)

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

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!

Paradise Isle Resort OfficeCyanotype Paradise Isle Resort OfficeToned Cyanotype Fort Morgan Wagon WheelCyanotype