One of the greatest losses with digital photography is that we never print our pictures. We share them on social media and on our phones, but we never see them hanging on the wall.

Early in my career in scuba diving, I was fortunate to see a photo show by Ernie Brooks. It was simply black and white photos of air bells underwater. I was mesmerized.

With those two things in mind, I set out to turn my own underwater photography on its ear. I experimented with converting my photos to black and white. I frequently dive in lakes so shifting to black and white didn’t lose much.

While I liked the effect, I thought I could do more.

Enter the sunlight print, also known as cyanotype. Cyanotype printing is an original photo printing technique, first used around 1842. Cyanotypes are made by mixing two chemicals (ammonium iron citrate and potassium ferricyanide) and treating paper, cloth or canvas, making it sensitive to ultraviolet light. The sun turns the chemical blue while whatever is shaded stays white.

One of the earliest uses for cyanotype was for naturalists to capture images of plants. The same process is used to create “blue prints” of maps and drawings.

I first learned how to make cyanotypes in a class at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. While there I made contact prints and later experimented with prints of things, like plants, glasses and crystals. Anything that would bend the light.

To make contact prints, you take a digital image (either a scan or a digital photo) and then reverse it in Photoshop. Printed out on a clear paper, it become a full-size negative.

In college, I had learned about black and white photography and printing my own images so this was nothing new. The cool part about cyanotypes that instead of hiding away in a darkroom to make images, you do it in the sun.

Here are some examples of the work.

How To

1. Find images that are sharp and clear, with a simple subject and a clean background.
2. Using photo editing software create black and white versions of your photographs.
   1. Take a critical look at these images. Edit out any that don’t stand up to the loss of color.
3. Reverse the image, turning it into a “negative”.
4. Print the negative image on a piece of acetate photo paper made for use with inkjet printers.
   1. This is a contact print so print it out the size you expect from the final cyanotype.
5. Mix the chemicals in a glass container, but just a little at a time. Literally, a capful or two of each chemical is enough.

6. 

   Brush the mixture on a piece of art paper. (You can use a lot of different papers and fabrics.) I prepare 10 to 20 papers at a time.

   1. Use a foam brush for an even coat. Try using a bristle brush and leaving streaks in the coating for a unique look.
   2. Use a bathroom with no windows. Normal room lights are okay, but avoid exposure to UV light.
   3. Wrap the dry papers in a black plastic garbage bag to keep them from becoming exposed to the sun.
7. Place a negative on top of the cyanotype paper and set it in the sun.
   1. Exposure takes five to 10 minutes, depending on the sun.
   2. Use an old picture frame, or a darkroom contact printer, to compress the negative to the paper for the sharpest print.
   3. If it is too light, repeat the process, but increase the time in the sun.
8. Stop the exposure by soaking the print in fresh, running water. No “fixer” is necessary.
9. Let the print dry and enjoy.
10. Noon sun will give the sharpest image, but other times of day when the sun changes angles will change how your prints look.

Where to find the materials

Cyanotype Chemical kits are available through Photographers Formulary for $24.95. The description says it produces 25 to 50 prints, but my experience has been it produces many more prints than that.

For the acetate paper, I use Pictorico Premium OHP Transparency Film available through B and H photo online or your local specialty photo store. It is designed for use with Inkjet printers.

For the prints, I use a variety of art papers, available through your local arts and crafts store. I’ve recently been using a white, acid-free card stock for scrapbooking. Different papers give different textures to the image.

“Out of sight, out of mind.” This cliché is true for a lot of things. Something might be vitally important to us, but the moment we set it down, and walk away, we forget where we left it. Like that cup of coffee this morning. Or your car keys.

Just because something is out of your mind, doesn’t mean it’s not there anymore or is no longer a problem. For years, our oceans have been a dumping ground for the things we don’t want to see any more.

The problem is that junk that we’ve thrown into the ocean just stays there. Or it floats. And it kills birds or turtles, porpoises and whales who get tangled in it.

When I dive, I often pick up trash that hasn’t been down too long. When I was diving in Grand Cayman recently, I spotted an empty tuna can and tucked into my BCD to bring it to the surface, for example. I know lots of divers who do that. On the other hand, if fishing line is entangled in a reef, you’ll do more damage by pulling it lose than leaving it in place. A can or a bottle that has been on the bottom for a while might have something living in it. In the local lake where I learned to dive, and many divers explore every day in the summer, I often see beer cans, plastic cups and other debris on the bottom.

Today, most of us who grew up with the crying native American standing beside the road from the Keep America Beautiful commercial get angry when we see litter by the side of the road where some inconsiderate, selfish slob has thrown it from their car. We need to have that same reaction when we see trash in the ocean. National Geographic reported earlier this year that eight million tons of plastic trash is dumped into the ocean every year.

You might have heard of the floating garbage dump in the North Pacific, but did you know there are actually five floating gyres of plastic and trash?

What you can do

1) Look for alternative materials or avoid excessive packaging when deciding on purchases. Use paper bags, milk and juice in cardboard, and cloth diapers. Insist on paper bags and glass bottles.

2) Recycle. Many communities currently offer pick-up recycling programs for #1 and #2 plastics. Other forms of plastic may be accepted by a local recycling business. If your community doesn’t have a recycling program, contact your city or town hall to request one.

3) Educate others about the problem of marine debris, enhancing “voluntary compliance through awareness.”

4) Get involved. Locate or start a cleanup in your area.

From the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

PADI’s Project Aware is organizing the Beneath the Waves drive for divers to share their photos of underwater debris on Instagram and Twitter  with the hashtag #BeneathTheWaves leading up to the Our Ocean 2015 conference on October 5 and 6.

Divers, it’s time to do more than picking up a piece of trash or two and bringing it to the surface. Show the world what you see. Maybe then, it won’t be out of sight any longer.

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