Beau Analogue Workshops Exhibition

This summer Beau held a workshop series featuring some fun analogue processes. These included overpaint and collage, pinhole photography, lumen printing, and cyanotype printing and toning. Participants created a variety of interesting work, and learned enough about each process so they could continue with it on their own. We’ve put up an exhibition at the shop with some of the images made during the workshops and also explorations from people who printed with the processes after.

For those of you not familiar with these processes, here is a brief overview of each…

Overpaint and Collage – Painting and drawing over a printed photograph. Most people print a digital image and then work on them with a variety of media including collaging with other images. In this workshop, digital images wee printed at the Beau Photo printing station ahead of time, and people used parts of other images, acrylic paint, and other mediums on their print.

Pinhole Photography – A pinhole camera is any light tight container that uses a small pinhole instead of a lens to create the image. Light sensitive paper or film can be used in these cameras. Participants learned the basics of making pinhole cameras, and then created their own cameras out of iphone boxes, cookie tins and more. They then went out and made an image using darkroom paper in their new cameras, and we developed them in a portable darkroom tent. With pinhole, new cameras produce some successful, and some less successful negatives until you get to know the camera. This day was no exception, but there were still many good negatives. Some of the participants plan to continue their pinhole explorations with the pinhole photography kit from Flic Film!

Lumen Printing – Lumen prints are images made on undeveloped photographic paper (usually expired paper that people have in their basements) by exposing in the sun with objects placed on the paper. They produce images in purples and pinks, but are not stable in the light unless they are fixed. Fixing will also change the colour, and some people prefer their prints when fixed. Unfixed, they can become a performance piece on your wall! Leave them up and they will continue to change and evolve. You can also scan them and work with the digital file to create something new. You can combine lumen printing with chemigrams, a process that uses developer and fixer to alter the colours and create patterns in the image. We soaked plants in a basic developer and pressed them on the paper, leaving a black plant impression in the purple/pink lumen print.

Cyanotypes – Cyanotype is a historic process introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842. Cyanotype prints are made by coating watercolour paper or other substrates with a light sensitive liquid and exposing them in the sun or with a UV light. This process is the basis for the original blueprint.

Toning Cyanotypes with Plants – Cyanotypes can be toned to produce different colours, usually various shades of brown. The blue is sensitive to alkaline environments, and changes colour with tannic acids. Plant teas make great toners and are a sustainable way to add another dimension to the image.

If you are interested in these processes and want to take a workshop, watch our social media and events page on the website to see when the next series is coming up.

There are images from the workshop participants in the front gallery space in the store, and images from staff who took part in the back. Come by and see the show in person! It will be up until the end of the year.