It was the convenience that initially attracted me to the simple and relatively easy to learn process first discovered by Sir John Herschel (1792-1842) known as cyanotype. I found that I could re-purpose acetate transparencies that I had originally created for screen printing. I also discovered that I could work within the medium of photography without full reliance on digital media or the need for a darkroom.

I have noticed that there is something about the starkness and simplicity of cyanotypes that evokes a power. By using my sources to look at the work of relevant contemporary cyanotype photographers, I have tried to work out how I could emulate what they were doing to better understand the process. I researched basic sunlight exposure printing, looking into a mix of photograms and using negative transparencies, concurrently I explored the toning and manipulation of cyanotypes.

I was very pleased with the results as this had become quite an ordeal for me with the previous reward of blank films after all the effort. I scanned 2 of the negatives, adjusted them in PS 4, enlarged them and printed out acetates to expose over cyanotype. I had used an analogue film camera to take the photos, developed the negatives, then gone digital by scanning and manipulating, printed off acetates and gone back to an analogue method of printing to produce the cyanotypes on mixed media paper. Great workflow!

There are no f stops just aperture settings 1 - 4 (again careful guess work required), only 2 shutter speeds other then Bulb or Time, plus focusing and framing requires some patience. But I managed to get 3 and a half exposures, using DD-X developer, scanned and no real adjustment needed. I was delighted with the results, from a 100 year old camera, considering all the things that could have gone wrong, they have a feel about them that I cannot pinpoint, this is so exciting and they are this wonderful panorama format.

The film used was again Pan F +50 asa, I used smaller apertures and longer shutter speeds to help with the focusing, and the developing was the same with DD-X. I produced 8 images from the film and think that the results are pretty good. After managing to operate this camera successfully I think I am ready for anything!

When I got home I waited until it was dark, (I had not yet set up my darkroom), mixed up PD5 print developer, stop and fixer and poured them into developing trays. The paper comes out as reversed and negative and I scanned and adjusted the images in PS4. I was completely surprised with the results, that anything came out let alone that the images were so evocative, I was totally smitten. They may be clunky and imperfect but this is something that I think you would find very hard to achieve with all the high end cameras and digital trickery in the world. Odd things in the close up foreground are as in focus as distant parts of the landscape, it is eerie.

The Holga arrived, but by then I was not quite so excited by it as I had been before the experiments with the syrup tin pin. The camera is extremely 'lo-fi', simple to load and operate, not much to it at all. I thought the results were very good, quite polished compared to the first homemade pinholes but still with another quality or feel than lens cameras. There is an option with the camera to take either 12 x 6 or 9 x 6, to get more out of the film I decided to use the 9 x 6 in the photos below. (Developed with DD-X and scanned.)

The photo in the shade of the trees I calculated for a 10 minute exposure and one on the beach in bright sunlight 2 seconds.

But the drawback to the Holga was actually using a roll of film and having to finish that off before developing. I think for me at this stage it interrupts the workflow and my thought process and I rather find that it can be a bit empty just taking snaps to use up a roll of film. I want to slow down even further, in the sense that I would prefer to go out and judiciously take maybe just one photograph, everything hanging on the decisions I make there and then, maybe sketching while waiting for a long exposure. Staying with what I have been working with and developing the same day.

Going forwards I decided to make some more cameras, I feel that there is something more personal and rewarding with the making and I would like to explore this now. I had a few 35 mm film canisters lying around and I had learned that these are suitable for making handy sized cameras. I glued magnets to the bases of these cameras so I could fix them to a tripod. This time I used a drinks can tin for making the pinholes, which are more robust than tin foil. I made a batch of these cameras and labelled them with numbers to track their exposure and subjects.

Below are the results from several experiments, all the paper negatives were developed as before and have been scanned and enhanced digitally. I am particularly fond of the third on the right, this was from a series taken with little toy soldiers and it looks like it could have been from the trenches under bombardment in WW1. All the exposures were taken in bright sunlight for 2 minutes.

By using a 4 x 5 film holder as template I designed and built the camera around that, I gave the camera a focal length of 6 inches which is apparently optimal for a camera of this size and will give a 54 deg field of view. The body is made from 18 mm MDF and I made a removable back and sliding shutter from 5 mm MDF. I added spirit levels and pins for framing on both the top and one side, 1/4 inch tripod mounts and elastic to hold the back in place. To preempt any light leaks I lined the edges of the opening to the rear with a dense light sealing material. The pinhole plate was made from an aluminium drinks can, and as I am getting more technical now I measured this by photographing the hole digitally and enlarging in PS4; I worked out that the hole is equivalent to an aperture of f 240. With the removable back I can shoot on paper and with the film holders on film.

These two photographs have I think taken me to a whole new creative level, I could even deconstruct them, and I have been able to give them titles so that's a start. I am using an exposure meter and a conversion chart to accurately gauge the exposure times based on the pinhole size and available light. To steady the camera it is usually positioned on a tripod or firm surface.

'Washday' was taken on paper, I wanted to record shapes, time and movement, 'Tick-tock' was also on paper and I took an experimental multiple exposure.

Meanwhile back in the workshop; an up scaling procedure was getting underway. The larger camera build was pretty much the same as before, but was based around a sheet of 8 x 10 inch paper. I calculated that the widest angle of view I could get on this format without vignetting would be 85 deg, this meant a focal length of 7 inches. Building a camera the second time around was easier and I made a few minor improvements. The difference in size is quite considerable as shown in the photo above.

This just keeps getting better and better, the size is fantastic. Both photos are on paper, the first photo above I left the camera under a tree for 20 minutes during storm Francis and kept it as a negative. The second photo reminds me of something by Robert Capa, like a beach during the Normandy landings 1944, I overexposed slightly so that the sea and sky would merge. I absolutely love the strong compositional devices combined with the greater depth of field and wider angle in the photos. Shooting 8 x 10 using conventional materials is not going to be really practical for experimentation, it is just so expensive to get the film, equipment and any positive paper. This is something I fully intend to explore though, there must be other materials that can be used to make exposures with larger formats, materials that might be available but not so expensive. I will come back to this, but for now I will return to the 4 x 5 format as I have everything I need to continue investigating the medium in this size, although I will build another camera with a wider angle.

I do feel that I have been neglecting my visual language and conceptual-ism, so before I make any more cameras I think it is important to step back and do some more drawing and thinking. I started with a little life drawing to get my eye back in and then took my sketch book out and about to do some mixed media plein air work, along the lines of Chris Forsey as before. Back in the studio I started with monochrome and then worked out a palette from colour exercises I had completed following Betty Edwards, from studying Kyffin Williams and my own observations. I made some studies from that material and edged towards abstraction.

After this warm up period I felt confident enough to work from my inspiration board and complete 'Cath's Friday Workshop' exercises 1 & 2. These exercises focusing on propaganda art from the 20th century has helped me find a way conceptually to my subject, I think that I am going to somehow aim for some monumental-ism with my work.

The third camera build (4 x 5) was very straightforward, I made a few more small improvements and a lot less mistakes. I have compared the size of the new 85 deg wider angle version, which has the shorter focal length, only 3 1/2 inches to the original longer 54 deg.

The first photo I took with the 85 deg version was the water pump outside our house, it was a 10 minute exposure on paper with sunny weather, but occasional cloud. I think the pump looks phenomenal, like Nelsons column, very dynamic with the low and wide angle combined, I left it as a negative for greater effect. The second photo I took of the trig up on Garn Fawr, (a nod to my previous project on navigation), similar lighting conditions and 8 minutes exposure, I enhanced and flipped this one to positive. Finally the third photo I have named 'The World Hanging onto the Earth' (a nod to the philosophy of Heidegger), was taken on Harman FB Direct Positive paper. This was the most surprising; overcast conditions, 10 minute exposure and absolutely no enhancement needed, it looked fantastic straight out of the developer!

I sketched the trig while waiting for the exposure. From referencing the sketch and pinhole I made 2 acrylic studies back in the studio .

I spent a couple of days setting up and conducting the following experiments, i think the results are promising.

I have another set of experiments I need to conduct, I would like to build even bigger cameras. But it is not economical or even possible to buy film or paper as large as I might like to go.

I have looked into various options to find suitable emulsions and make my own paper or photographic plates. I stumbled across a recently developed emulsion called 'Liquid Light', that is meant for darkroom use, I have not heard of anyone using it inside a pinhole camera yet, so I thought I would give it a try.

I intend to practice with the Liquid Light on paper, but I am also keen to try out glass and other possible substrates. I ordered a glass cutter to make some glass plates that could work well as negatives.

I returned to the darkroom to mix up a batch of the emulsion and coat plenty of paper, glass etc.

Things to consider when when making:

Time:

Association:

Background:

Understanding:

Looking again:

Assessment:

I started with the three abstract monochrome pieces above (right carousel), using acrylic, charcoal and chalk. One of these, (center carousel), I further developed by masking with tape and adding some colour, based on a palette I had been using in my previous landscapes. Another piece, (left carousel) I divided into five smaller pieces and used each of these as a base for collage, including found material, handmade paper and small cyanotypes. I spent a great deal of time thinking how to arrange and present the disparate pieces of work all conducted around the same time. Once satisfied the collages were glued in place. After more consideration I developed them further; eventually stenciling over one collage using a similar palette as before, I drew over another with a selection of inks, also based on the previous palette. I broke with the pattern on a third, where I mixed up pink pigment, acrylic medium, screen printing medium and using a screen made from a sketch, printed an image. This was a bit weak so I flipped the collage 180 degrees and printed once again.

It has occurred to me that my use of a crystal ball, as in the previous photos, has created a similar look to the work of Steven Pippin's Laundromat Locomotion series. Pippin is an artist that my tutor Cath Fairgrieve suggested I should research. I have subsequently learned among other things that Pippin in turn was heavily influenced by the work of Eadweard Muybridge. I looked back at my book on Muybridge and put together a series of photographs below considering his and Pippin's work, combining that with my Napoleonic (revolutionary) model soldiers, crystal ball, its spiritual clairvoyance connotation and measurement.

Looking to the future, look into the past.
The lens of now, the lens of then.
The shadows held up to today.
The jumble of history and confusion of the present.
Uncertainty of the future and how can this be measured.
What can that be measured against?
Is there any measure?
Muybridge's locomotion, measurements of movements in time.

I have two crystal balls one 80 mm and one 100 mm and I have used them both inside and outside my two 4 x 5 pinhole cameras. I have used a painting of mine as the backdrop and the models were set up on the keys of our piano with a metric/ imperial ruler. I used 100 asa film with flash and developed half the negatives with Ilford DDX and half with Rodinal. I can easily tell which ones were done in Rodinal and I now know why many film aficionados refer to it as the nectar of the gods!

On another note my tutor Peter Bodenham asked if my use of Napoleonic figures had anything to do with my square mile. After all Caragwasted Bay, known also as French Camp is within walking distance of where I live, and is the site of the infamous 'Last French Invasion' of 1797. I hadn't thought of that, but next decent weather I will make my way over there to see what I can find.

My use of model soldiers originally came from an idea I was discussing with my father; as a child during WW 2 he told me that my grandfather had returned from Germany with among other loot, some painted lead model soldiers. My father had set these up and photographed them with his Brownie Box camera. Sadly neither the photos, soldiers or camera have survived. So I was knocked out when I discovered the work of Jake and Dinos Chapman, most notably the models in their 'Hell' 1999 and 'Fucking Hell' 2008.

I took a couple of the pinhole still lives and manipulated them in Photoshop 4, I printed these out for possible cyanotypes as acetate positives and negatives. I also printed the images and a few more from the same series at A3 for one inspiration board and I combined a few painted studies as another inspiration board. The plan here is to revisit and rework my own interpretations somehow, like the mirror looking back at itself, echoing, I hope this will help me find new meanings.

Concurrently I started two other experiments, both triggered by my explorations and research. Thinking of sustainable inks and dyes I came across the practice of producing ink or dye from metal by leaving objects in vinegar, from this I thought I might try leaving metal screws outside on a wooden board for an extended period to see if I could make a print.

During my research I came across the artist Walead Beshty and his FedEx boxes, I liked the idea of these boxes that were made to resemble burnished copper receiving random patina from knocks and scuffs during their transits, the glass objects inside getting damaged. During the lock down so much of the things we need have to be ordered by mail delivery, and I thought this might make a topical subject. I have also been listening to a CD I bought featuring the book 'I send you this Cadmium Red', about the correspondence between artists John Berger and John Cale. I asked my father who lives in Cambridge and paints, and I have not seen in over a year now if he would like to collaborate, if this would bring us closer in some way. My idea is to make and then respond or derelict a box, send it to him, let him respond to that, contribute or interrupt my responses/ derelictions and send it back to me. This should ping pong for a set period or number of consignments, to be decided... Annoyingly a thought occurred to me after completing this box; how great it would be to have inserted a spycam to record its adventures, damn, I think that I might build another box!

After studying my inspiration boards I decided to try a cyanotype photogram; I was thinking of the crystal ball, or more specifically the paradox of crystal itself, the contradiction of 'crystal clear', but that although crystal allows light to pass through, it does refract and distort that light. I placed a few crystal cut glasses and other ornaments plundered from my mothers dresser over the model soldiers to see what that would bring. This required a 30 minute exposure under my UV light source and after rinsing in water I used a sodium carbonate bath to enhance the contrast.

Before embarking on painting after a break I always find it useful to do some life drawing or a selfie, I think my self portrait below is reflecting my current monumental/ heroic influences.

Developing the theme from the cyanotype above I made another larger more complex one using an acetate negative together with more objects, all based on my ephemera from the series of previous pinhole photographs and a few more glassware objects that are made of crystal. A metaphor for the crystal ball, that although having spiritual associations it actually manipulates light rays by refraction, 'distorting' any truth. This was a 30 minute exposure with 2 x sodium carbonate baths.

After more study of my inspiration boards and thoughts about my conceptual ideas I plunged into the painting. I started by carefully reworking chalk marks I had made on the remaining 2 of my abstract acrylic studies. Gradually I became bolder using a smallish brush tying the painting together. Then abruptly Gehard Richter was in my head, I was driven to use a paint scraper in all directions which gave the fine lines I had been painting the appearance of blurs and skids across the surface. This was looking vital and full of energy, I then marked out rough shapes of figures from my photos, first with charcoal, then more carefully with Paynes Grey acrylic mix. While the paint was still wet I employed some scraffito and more paint scraping. Finally I made some reference to the crystal by going over in large arcs with chalk, finishing off somewhere near my starting point, for this session.

The image below is an experiment I am very pleased with; I cut a sheet of 8x10 mixed media paper, coated it with light sensitive emulsion, placed that in my homemade 8 x 10 pinhole camera. Made a 30 minute exposure of one of our trees. Developed the paper negative, scanned that to create an acetate negative, coated the original paper neg with cyanotype and exposed the acetate neg over that for 30 minutes under my UV light, rinsed and bleached, rinsed again.