I found these orphans at Scrap SF and printed them to take a little mental break from tricolors.

I devised a punch and pin registration system for my negatives:

I adjusted the size of my paper to accommodate 2 punches from a 3-hole punch. Then I added a strip of mylar to the top of each 4x5 neg with clear tape for the same reason. I aligned all three on a light box, taped them together temporarily so they would stay put, and punched holes through all three layers of mylar at the same time. This is the application of the system:

Registration pins are taped to a drawing board. The paper and negative are attached to the pins and sandwiched between glass and a rayonbase.

I was testing three major elements this round: new madder roots sourced from a local market, the effectiveness of the registration, and paper types: Canson Montval Watercolor, Fabriano Unica, and Hahnemuhle Bamboo Mixed Media.

These madder roots required more processing, and are less potent and purple than my first batch. It required a longer exposure time. Also, I only applied one layer of emulsion for the next (yellow) layer to try to avoid overpowering the gentle pink.

The magenta layers:

Hahnemuhle Bamboo Mixed Media

Canson Montval Watercolor

Fabriano Unica

All three layers registered beautifully.

Hahnemuhle Bamboo Mixed Media:

M: 45min  Y: 55min  C:34min

M: 45min Y: 55min  C:32min

Fabriano Unica:

M: 30min  Y: 55min  C: 32min

M: 45min  Y: 55min  C: 28min

Canson Montval Watercolor:

M: 21min  Y: 55min  C: 30min

M: 30min  Y: 55min  C: 24min

Honestly, I’m getting tired of working with this image, and I think it’s the wrong one for running tests because the original scene had so little red. I am feeling displeased with the color balance, which is missing red despite the paper being stained pink. So I guess the next step will be to focus on the magenta layer. I am very happy that the registration method worked so well, and I’m really liking the Hahnemuhle Bamboo and Fabriano Unica papers, which are smooth enough to pick up fine detail from my negatives.

I’ve been interested in finding an alternative analog method of color photographic printing for years. The original idea was to photograph a scene with black and white film through red, blue, and green filters and then layer them to create a color image. At first I thought I would try working with gum bichromate as a printing method, but my first attempts were foiled by light-leaky camera bellows. I was also hesitant to continue working with the process’ particularly hazardous chemistry.

I began developing a method for working with photopolymer intaglio printmaking, but abandoned the project after deciding that the microplastics created as a byproduct were not justifiable.

Proof of test plate for photopolymer intaglio process using reused fruit clamshell plastic as plates.

Proof of different exposure times.

I used an all-analog method to contact print my film negatives onto ortholithographic film stock.

The exposure of the positive had to be balanced with a separate aquatint screen  exposure.

Lots of things could and did go wrong.

Cyanotype is one of the least toxic alternative photographic printing methods and uses plain water as developer.  I used Annette Golaz’s incredible book, Cyanotype Toning: Using Botanicals to Tone Blueprints Naturally as a guide for printing these tricolor cyanotypes.

I shoot at least three 4x5 negatives per image: each with a green, blue, or red filter. I devised a system of clipping the film’s corners to indicate which filter was used on each sheet. Each filtered negative is used to print a different color layer.

Green filter —> bleached and Magenta-toned cyanotype (using madder roots)

Blue filter —> cyanotype bleached to Yellow (using sodium carbonate, a.k.a. washing soda, a.k.a. soda ash)

Red filter —> regular Cyanotype

Here are a few things I learned/need to learn:

-apply 2 coats of emulsion for the yellow layer, but make sure the first is completely dry before applying the 2nd

-devise a registration system (registration pins and punches?)- the paper and negatives are too thick to use a light box for registration

-find a way to minimize paper staining, including using testing different paper, diluting the toner, and/or shortening the toner bath time

-only tone one paper in a tray at a time, and double check for surface bubbles, which will leave light spots on the print