Inspired by cha_mel_eon, the children and I went out to collect materials to make cyanotypes on our daily towpath walk. Thanks to a prompt from her, I remembered and dug out a packet of sun paper I bought years ago from my photography supplies. I bought it when we were still living in Cambridge, prior to Humuhumu’s birth, which tells you how expired it is.

Nevertheless, we decided to give it a whirl. After a couple of experiments, we determined that we needed to use it (a) when the sun was still high in the sky, to maximise contrast during exposure and (b) with materials that produced sharp edges.


The one on the left was made with periwinkle flowers and goosegrass (“sticky weed”, according to Keiki). The one on the right was made with pink and blue forget-me-not flowers.

We also picked quite a lot of wild garlic, which we’re going to use to make anthotypes tomorrow. The leftovers, we will eat, as usual!