the color fuchsia

It’s not summer until I begin a large anthotype and because I planned ahead (or perhaps never got around to it), I have pokeberry emulsion in late May! This is going to be a re-print of the Clem Wolfham anthotype which is badly faded due to mixing the original emulsion with water.

Don’t do that.

I suspect the diluted emulsion caused the image to fade but I don’t have a good guess as to why. Another sheet of paper I had coated a year and a half ago also faded quite badly in the dark. It’s something I noticed last summer after I got back from my Boston residency.

Last fall, after picking and separating berries, I had pokeberry juice all over my hands and made a  hand print on blotter paper. The image is still quite vivid perhaps hinting that maybe this emulsion shouldn’t be diluted.

The images below are the uncoated sheet of Fabriano Artistico Extra White Hot Press and the coated sheet. It is a bit streaky but the color is intense. As intense as fuchsia can get.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, will be the first day of exposure. Even with the heavy tree cover surrounding the back yard, I expect the exposure to take less than two weeks.

stopping point

After the "unveil" last week I felt the anthotype needed more exposure and more detail in the middle of the object. I cut the pajama top into two layers and use the front of the pajama for the most recent exposure of about 2 1/2 afternoons. Registration is...well...off. That was an accepted part of this final attempt. I am now face with a decision. Do I intentionally move the the subject in future anthotype photograms? Do I keep it in register to maximize sharpness? Do I allow both to occur in the series?

I have a working title for the project of "Fade Away" to refer to the fading action of the sun on the pigment and the passing on of the previous owner of these pajamas and maybe even the fading away of Henry Peach Robinson fame. I'll upload the full PJ anthotype photogram later this week.