Sam Haack | “Veiny Leaf Cyanotype”
This media file is attached to: Photography
For this piece, I replicated botanist and photographer Anna Atkins’ photographic process of developing cyanotypes. I created this print by mixing ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide, creating a light-sensitive chemical, that I then painted onto paper. Once dry, I exposed the coated paper to sunlight with a leaf placed on top in order to take an impression of it (similar to taking an x-ray of a plant). I reference this layering technique by including the actual subject in my final image, which is placed slightly off-center to highlight the organic character and intricate veins in the leaf.
