anthotype

This year I have been perfecting certain formulae and techniques of sustainable photography. Traditional photography can contain toxic materials and be heavy on the use of water and electricity. I wanted to share my findings with local artists and photographers (of all levels) and to open up discussions of climate and Nature. Thanks to a grant from Bexley Three Rivers and Arts Council England I was able to do that. Over July and August we made sunprints, plant emulsions, and a photowalk in the woods.

Click here to see full gallery of work

I feel there is a real gap for summer activities in London, especially after the isolating lockdowns. Many clubs and classes shut down completely for summer. This became a bit of a ‘summer camp’ and was a lot of fun. It was full of moments of magic, discovery and laughter. Everyone said, they had never done anything like this before, and that was very rewarding for me as I strive to be original.

I’d like to say a massive thanks to all the enthusiastic participants, and to the helpful organisers, to the Belvedere Centre, and my assistants Tabby and Lewis.

I took this photo of the dry ferns when I was doing a reccee for our PhotoWalk day. It was the peak of the heatwave and drought. I could see smoke and was told there were firefighters dealing with a forest fire in the woods. I got out fast.

Seeing evidence like this in nature, plants struggling for survival, and human litter around the edges, we were able to discuss the threats to the green environment.

Exploring the Anthotype process was one of the best things to come out of Lockdown for me. This process was ‘invented’ by John Herschel around 1841 as he was trying to pave the way for colour photography, it even pre-dates Cyanotype. Up until then the only photos were rusty-coloured black & white . Over a century later, I am branching out from my own rusty-looking black & white to try some colour! In summer, when the darkroom was closed, my little city garden became my darkroom.

Herschel used natural dyes from flowers and vegetables. I mainly used extracts from plants I had grown. Some plants work better than others, and many plants I tested do not work well at all. But its a Eureka moment when they do !

I will run a workshop on Anthotype in summer 2021. Its great to bring people closer to plants with a 100% eco process using plants and sunlight alone.