Gingko Cyanotypes – My winter distraction* – jennifer ablard photography

(Cyanotypes for sale on my Etsy Site)

I seem to have spent the darkest months of the winter seeking out sunlight. I had intended on trying my hand at print making-specifically Pronto Print lithography using my photographs as content. But I was quickly frustrated with not being able re-acquire the technique. I took a class a few years ago and had great success-but the re-boot not so much. Making cyanotypes is so much more like darkroom photography but without the nasty chemicals and DARK! The process uses the SUN. I found myself finding spots in the house where the sun shined in the windows for an extended period of time so I didn’t have to go outside to make a print. Or dashing in and out of the house as flurries flew to sneak a print or two out of the day.

I mostly worked with Gingko leaves I collected and photographed in the fall.

Little did I know that a well timed morning dog walk would result in months of making images inspired by this tree! On November 5th and 6th all the leaves fell from a neighborhood Gingko tree. It was like watching a yellow snow storm and I could hear the leaves landing! This is what they do-they shed all their leaves in a very brief period of time (1-15 days according to wikipedia) This tree did it in 24 hours.

Witnessing this amazing phenomenon prompted me to do some reading- Other interesting facts: other names for the tree include Maidenhair Tree and Golden Apricot. Generally the female trees are not planted near houses-those lovely Golden Apricots -the fruit of the tree smells like VOMIT when they start to rot on the ground! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba

And Now I Know-

This is the first time that I have found myself focusing on a single body of work-making variations, refining technique, making mistakes and trying again.